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Figure 1. Hematoxylin-eosin staining (A,B,C). (A) Deciduous tooth showing a range of cell types disseminated in the ground substance. Aggregates of sizeable cells form primitive vessels (arrows). (B) Pulp from 26-year-old subject. Spindle-shaped fibroblasts (light-red cells) are predominant in the condensed stroma. (C) Aged pulp composed of dense connective tissue with the presence of fibrocytes (dark red). Masson’s staining (D,E,F). Blue dye reveals the presence of collagen fibrils increasing with age. Cells stained red. (D) Deciduous tooth shows a few collagen fibrils around several forming vessels. (Large arrows, sizeable vessels; thin arrows, small vessels.) (E) Young pulp. Collagen fibrils encircle the definitive vessels (thin arrows), some of which contain peripheral blood. (F) Aged pulp. Densely packed collagen fibers are arranged in compact regular bundles (bright blue). Immunohistochemical determination of CD34 antigen (G,H,I). (G) Deciduous tooth with the presence of single CD34+ brown-stained cell (arrows), or clustered CD34+ brown-stained cells, to form a variety of microvessels. (H) Pulp from a 26-year-old subject showing the presence of differentiated CD34+ blood vessels (arrows). (I) Aged pulp containing blood vessels (arrow) not expressing the CD34 antigen. Bar: 100 µm.
