[Early development of human tooth germs including the surrounding structures]

It could be shown by means of 3-dimensional reconstructions made from serial sections of human embryos, that the dental lamina of the lower jaw as well as that of the upper jaw is spatially impeded at its distal ends by the presence of the mandible and Meckel's cartilage. This spatial impediment of the odontogenetic epithelium can be seen to be of influence during the formation of the tooth buds.