An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinctLydekker, Richard
Science
An introduction to the study of mammals living and extinct
Lydekker, Richard
Mammals
The _enamel_ constitutes a thin investing layer, complete or partial, of
the outer or exposed and working surface of the dentine of the crown of
the teeth of most mammals. This is the hardest tissue met with in the
animal body, containing from 95 to 97 per cent of mineral substances
(chiefly calcium phosphate and some carbonate, with traces of fluoride).
Its ultimate structure consists of prismatic fibres, placed generally
with their long axes at right angles to the free surface of the tooth.
Enamel is easily distinguished from dentine with the naked eye by its
clear, bluish-white, translucent appearance.
The _cement_ or _crusta petrosa_ is always the most externally placed
of the hard tissues of which teeth are composed, as will be understood
when the mode of development of these organs is considered. It is often
only found as a thin layer upon the surface of the root; but sometimes,
as in the complex-crowned molar teeth of the Horse and Elephant, it is a
structure which plays a very important part, covering and filling in the
interstices between the folds of the enamel. In appearance, histological
structure, and chemical composition it is closely allied to osseous
tissue, containing lacunæ and canaliculi, though only when it is of
considerable thickness are Haversian canals present in it.
_Development._—The two principal constituents of the teeth, the dentine
and the enamel, are developed from the two layers of the mucous membrane
of the jaw—the dentine from the deeper or vascular, the enamel from the
superficial or epithelial layer. The latter dips down into the substance
of the gum, and forms the enamel-organ or germ, the first rudiment of the
future tooth, which is constantly present even in those animals in which
the enamel is not found as a constituent of the perfectly-formed tooth.
Below the mass of epithelial cells thus embedded in the substance of the
gum, and remaining connected by a narrow neck of similar structure with
the epithelium of the surface, a portion of the vascular areolar tissue
becomes gradually separated and defined from that which surrounds it,
and assumes a distinct form, which is that of the crown of the future
tooth,—a single cone in the case of simple teeth, or with two or more
eminences in the complex forms. This is called the dental papilla or
dentine germ, and by the gradual conversion of its tissue into dentine
the bulk of the future tooth is formed, the uncalcified central portion
remaining as the pulp. The conversion of the papilla into hard tissue
commences at the outer surface of the apex, and gradually proceeds
downwards and inwards, so that the form of the papilla exactly determines
the form of the future dentine, and no alteration either in shape or
size of this portion of the tooth, when once calcified, can take place
by addition to its outer surface. In the meanwhile, calcification of a
portion of the cells of the enamel-organ, which adapts itself like a cap
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account