Lymphatic vessels in the human deciduous tooth pulp

Abstract

Over the years several studies have been conducted on lymphatic vessels. However, the existence of these vessels in the human dental pulp has been controversial. We investigated the existence of lymphatic vessels in the human deciduous dental pulp, which has not been well studied. The samples were extracted human deciduous mandibular canines and maxillary second molars. Ultrathin sections of the dental pulp were prepared for transmission electron microscopy by conventional methods. The 10μm sections were freeze-sectioned using Kawamoto's method. Immunohistochemical staining was performed using the D2-40 antibody that immunospecifically reacts with type O sialoglycoprotein in the lymphatic endothelium. Previous fine structural and immunohistochemical studies using VEGFR-3, 5'-nucleotidase have noted the existence of lymphatic vessels in the human adult dental pulp. We were able to identify lymphatic vessels in the human deciduous dental pulp using transmission electron microscopy and D 2-40 immunoreactivity.