Light microscopic study of giant tubules in bovine dentin

Demineralized, H-E stained longitudinal and transversal sections of unerupted permanent incisors from 1/2-3-yr-old calves were studied by light microscopy. The most incisal dentin in all teeth was characterized by a regular pattern of straight axially oriented giant tubules situated in the axiomesiodistal plane with interglobular dentin between them. In younger teeth, the pulpal part of every giant tubule contained an afferent and an efferent blood vessel, forming a hairpin loop and being surrounded by basophil cells. Incisal to the blood vessel loops, cells enbedded in an eosinophil matrix were present in the giant tubule lumina, showing increasing degenerative changes incisally. In older teeth there was a mesiodistally extended eosinophil dentin band near the pulp, with few, irregularly arranged, tortuous dentinal and giant tubules, the latter containing single blood vessels accompanied by pulpal cells. Isolated degenerating odontoblasts in lacunar cavities were seen in the transition area of the normal circumpulpal dentin and the eosinophil dentin band. A hypothesis on the initiation and subsequent development of giant tubules is presented.