Comparative roentgenographic and histologic study of human mandibles

Abstract

Five lower jaws were studied and analyzed by comparing roentgenograms and histologic preparations. In all instances it was found that the roentgenograms confirmed the histologic aspect in every detail. If standardized methods of roentgenographic technique are employed, differences in the general shade of the images of jawbone tissue are primarily due to individual differences in density of ossification and combined thickness of the cortical plates. The number of bone trabeculae between the cortical plates and alveolar bone is not only dependent on the functional requirements which the jawbone has to meet, but also on the many general systemic conditions which affect bone metabolism, and control the laws of bone resorption and apposition. The jaw structures are by no means of a stabile nature, and as the trabeculae are a storehouse of important minerals upon which the body may draw in time of need, it must be emphasized that morphologic changes may occur rapidly at any time. They do so, however, in a characteristic manner, and knowledge of these changes from the standpoint of roentgenographic interpretation becomes an extremely important asset in dental practice.