Bone remodeling during prenatal morphogenesis of the human mental foramen

From a morphogenetic point of view, the mental foramen of the mandible is a highly suitable model to study the interactions of different tissues such as nerves, vessels, mesenchymal cells, cartilage, and bone. In previous work, we provided a three-dimensional description of the mental foramen at different developmental stages, and now we complement those studies with a three-dimensional visualization of different bone remodeling activities around the mental foramen. Histological serial sections of human embryos and fetuses, ranging in size from 25 to 117 mm crown-rump-length (CRL), were used to characterize the bone remodeling activity (apposition, inactivity, and resorption). We quantified and reconstructed this activity in three dimensions, and included information on the spatial relationship of the nerves, vessels, and dental primordia. In general, the mandible showed strong apposition at its outer surfaces. The brim of the mental foramen, however, displayed changing remodeling activity at different stages. In the depth of the bony gutter, which provides space for the nerve and the blood vessels, we found bone resorption beneath the inferior alveolar vein. Bone was also resorbed in proximity to the dental primordia. In future studies, we will relate gene expression data to these morphological findings in order to identify molecular mechanisms that regulate this complex system.