Light and transmission-electron microscopy study of enamel organ cells in germectomized human third mandibular molars

Using nine serially sectioned germectomized mandibular third molars it was possible to examine light microscopical (LM) and transmission-electron microscopical (TEM) features of maturing human enamel organ cells. The degree of enamel mineralization was estimated by quantitative imbibition studies in polarized light. It was possible to distinguish between three progressive stages of enamel mineralization. The most advanced stage was characterized by external enamel porosity. In the least advanced stages the enamel porosity appeared more extensive beneath a less porous surface layer. Ruffle- and smooth-ended ameloblasts were identified corresponding to the maturing enamel. Smooth-ended ameloblasts were the most frequently observed. However, no preferences for one of the two cell types could be observed in relation to the different stages of enamel mineralization. The maturing human enamel organ cells broadly revealed the same characteristics with respect to morphology features, intracellular organization, and junctional complexes as described in the maturation zone of the rat incisor enamel organ. Our findings therefore add to the view that the basic pattern of amelogenesis is identical in human and rat incisor enamel.