Risnes S
Department of Anatomy, Dental Faculty, University of Oslo, Norway.
Scanning Microsc. 1987 Dec;1(4):1893-902.
A method is described where teeth are sectioned/ground along at least two planes, etched, and viewed at various angles in the SEM in order to study the three-dimensional structure of enamel. This multiplane sectioning-scanning electron microscopy (MPS-SEM) method has been applied to the study of rat and human enamel. The method demonstrates in a direct way the complex three-dimensional structure of rat incisor enamel; the path of prisms and the distribution of interprismatic substance. The different appearance of alternate prism rows as seen in the longitudinal plane is seen to be due to prisms in alternate rows being inclined to different degrees in the transverse plane. In human enamel, the method reveals the three-dimensional nature of Retzius lines. In tangential planes cut at right angles to the prisms, Retzius lines are identified on the basis of an altered size, shape or etching pattern of prisms. Considerable variation in etching pattern within the same tangential plane was observed. Enamel tufts could be observed simultaneously in tangential and longitudinal planes, giving information about their three-dimensional extent and their relationship to Hunter-Schreger bands and to prisms and interprismatic substance. The main advantage of the method is that deduction of three-dimensional structure from the appearance of the structure in one plane is aided by the appearance of the structure in the adjoining plane.
本文描述了一种方法，即沿着至少两个平面将牙齿切片/研磨、蚀刻，并在扫描电子显微镜（SEM）下以不同角度观察，以研究牙釉质的三维结构。这种多平面切片-扫描电子显微镜（MPS-SEM）方法已应用于大鼠和人类牙釉质的研究。该方法直接展示了大鼠切牙牙釉质复杂的三维结构；棱柱的走向和柱间质的分布。在纵平面上看到的交替棱柱排的不同外观被认为是由于交替排中的棱柱在横平面上倾斜程度不同。在人类牙釉质中，该方法揭示了芮氏线的三维性质。在与棱柱成直角切割的切平面中，根据棱柱大小、形状或蚀刻模式的改变来识别芮氏线。在同一切平面内观察到蚀刻模式有相当大的变化。在切向和纵向平面中可以同时观察到釉丛，从而提供有关其三维范围以及它们与亨特-施雷格带、棱柱和柱间质关系的信息。该方法的主要优点是，相邻平面中结构的外观有助于从一个平面中结构的外观推断三维结构。
