Original scientific paper

Innervation of the Human Periodontal Ligament

Dragutin Komar ; School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Zlatko Kelović ; Zavod za anatomiju Medicinskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Adnan Ćatović ; School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Tomislav Ivaniš ; s

Abstract

The aim o f this study was to analyze the distribution and forms o f nerve fibres and endings in the periodontal ligament o f the adult man. The material for this investigation was obtained at routine autopsies and consisted o f four lower premolar and two molar tooth
prepared together with belonging alveola and neighbouring parts o f the mandibula. The material was decalcinated in the formic acid, embedded in paraplast, sectioned 20 micrometers thick in bucco-
lingual direction and stained with modified Ungewitter’s silver nitrate method. It was found that nerve fibres enter the periodontium passing
through the bottom o f the bony socket. The nerve fibres follow the course o f the blood vessels in periodontium. The richest innervation o f the periodontium was found in the apical third o f the tooth root and less fibres were present in the upper and middle third. In the periodontium o f the adult man we were not able to found free endings o f nerve fibres in the form o f bush-like terminations that were described in previous investigations in lower mammals. On the other hand, we found the presence o f the large number o f specialized nerve endings that according to their morphological characteristics could be Meissner corpuscules embedded in Sharpey’s ligaments. The largest number o f these endings may belong to real mechanoreceptors situated in the upper and middle part o f the periodontium.

Keywords

periodontal ligament; receptors

Hrčak ID:

100698

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/100698

Publication date:

15.9.1992.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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