On the potential of the adult rat incisor odontogenic organ to differentiate into two intact teeth.

The odontogenic organ of 10 male albino rats weighing 200 g has been exposed by a longitudinal incision through the masseter muscle. Its site could be identified as a bluish elevation of the mandible. Into this region through the bone, a 2 X 2 mm. tinfoil has been inserted, deep into the odontogenic organ. The tinfoil direction was generally parallel or slightly oblique to the tooth longitudinal axis. The animals were killed after 1 month. Their lower incisors in the bony sockets were fixed and decalcified, cut sagittally and processed histologically. In 3 sockets two separate teeth could be identified, a labial and a lingual tooth. Generally only the labial tooth was covered by enamel, in one case however both teeth exhibited a regular enamel layer. Both teeth were separated by a periodontal ligament and exhibited separate tooth cavities. This experiment demonstrates the capability of the odontogenic organ to reproduce a whole new complex organ, the tooth. A phenomenon hitherto observed only in Urodela in which a severed limb regenerates from primitive pluripotential stem cells known as blastema. Contrary to the newt however, the incisor blastema reproduces continuously throughout the life of the individual and responds to the tinfoil stimulus by a production of an extra tooth.