Reprint of: Physiology of the Human Dental Pulp.

Because of the unique encasement of the human dental pulp in a low-compliance environment, intrapulpal tissue pressure is of paramount importance in pulpal physiology. Tissue pressure is a local phenomenon, and the pathophysiology of pulp is characterized not by a sudden strangulation at the apex but by a circumferential spread of inflammation and necrosis from a site of initial injury. It is only when gross destruction of tissue has led to a loss of structural integrity that the pulp may become an isobaric chamber in which all areas are in hydrostatic communication.