PERIPHERAL CAPILLARIES IN THE RODENT INCISOR PULP

¹ Anatomy Department, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, Scotland

1. The capillary systems of the odontoblast layer of the incisors were examined in the rat, rabbit, hamster, and mouse. The technic used was that of India ink perfusion, and the examination of injected and noninjected material.

2. There existed a very close meshwork of capillaries adjacent to the predentine and lying among the distal ends of the odontoblasts. A looser network was found in the subodontoblastic region. Connections between these two were formed by vessels which mostly ran parallel to the long axes of the odontoblasts.

3. The development and fate of this plexus was traced from the formative to the incisal end of the tooth.

4. It is suggested that this arrangement may be related to rapid dentine production and that it is in keeping with the concept of a noncellular mechanism for the calcification of the dentine matrix.