Demonstration of Calcospherites in Mature Human Dentin

¹ Departments of Anatomy and Oral Surgery, University of Kentucky Medical Center, Lexington, Kentucky

When decalcified, paraffin-imbedded sections of human dentin were incubated with papain, the outlines of calcospherites were discerned. At high magnification an internal concentric banding could be seen. Metal shadowed replicas of undecalcified sections showed similar structures. Calcospherites and their internal markings were not found in areas of interglobular dentin. It was suggested that the calcospherites were demonstrated after papain digestion, due to the removal of organic material, possibly a chondromuco protein.