Oral Cavity 15

This section shows a tooth as its is normally embedded in the bone of the jaw. The oral cavity is to the left, the bone of the jaw (F, mandible) is to the right. The crown of the tooth is at A, while the pulp cavity is at B. The components of the gum are visible on both sides of the tooth, but only one side is labeled: C is the cervix [where the gum is actually "attached" to the neck of the tooth (via the cementum)]; while D labels the gingiva and G indicates the periodontal ligament. K is at the root of the tooth. H lies over a cross-section of the inferior alveolar nerve. NOTE: This material was demineralized so that it could be sectioned; hence most of the enamel has been removed (it would have been a layer between the "A" and the reddish-brown material between "A" and "B", which is what remains of the dentin). Now imagine a mirror image of this field, such that the tooth was "facing" to the right: the number "1" indicates the region shown, at higher magnification, in Oral Cavity 16, while the region near "A" is shown, at higher magnification, in Oral Cavity 17.

Slide N-8, photomacrograph, full field width is approximately 1.5 cm