Abstract
The vascular system in the developing molar teeth of the rat was examined in young specimens, which had been injected with black ink and then cleared in wintergreen oil. Arteries leading to the upper molars come from the posterior superior alveolar, infraorbital, and ophthalmic arteries, and those supplying the lower ones arise from the buccal, posterior superior alveolar, anterior facial, and submental arteries. Small branches from these trunk arteries pierce the outer enamel epithelium of the enamel organ to reach the stratum intermedium, there forming a capillary network. Along the margin of the enamel organ, the capillaries join the small veins, which in turn flow in large intra-osseous efferent veins in a tortuous course. In the upper jaw, these veins connect with the posterior superior alveolar vein, and with the buccal, circummental and submental veins and pterygoid plexus in the lower j aw. In addition to these descriptions, some discussions are made on the significance of the vascularization of the enamel organ.
