Aster-Shaped Calcified Deposits Observed in Tonsillolith and Dental Calculus with Scanning Electron Microscopy

抄録

It is known that calcified deposits showing an aster-like structure on the sectioned and fractured surfaces are present in human supragingival calculus. In a tonsillolith collected from an old female, aster-shaped calcified deposits were also found. In both stones, the central regions showed a glomerate structure composed of fine needle or sandygrain-shaped crystals of biological apatites formed mainly by the extracellular calcification, and the marginal regions showed a radial arrangement of elongated ribbon and plate-shaped crystals of octacalcium phosphate. It is suggested that the deposits of the tonsillolith are formed in the sites surrounded with organic matter, and that the sites are similar to that of dental plaque where the deposits of dental calculus will be formed.