• Submission Form (PDF)
• Author Guidelines (PDF)
• Submit

• Accepted Manuscripts

Back

Volume 11 , Issue 6
November/December 1996
Pages 800-805

Electrophysiologic Evidence Showing the Existence of Sensory Receptors Within the Alveolar Bone in Anesthetized Cats

Jean Héraud, Dr Odont/Jacques Orofino, Dr Odont/Michel Trub, Dr Odont/Noël Mei, Dr Sc

PMID: 8990644

Single-nerve activities were recorded in the gasserian ganglia of anesthetized cats by glass extracellular microelectrodes to determine whether sensory endings exist within the alveolar bone. Trigeminal cells responded to mechanical and/or thermal stimulation applied to the maxillary bone. Some were activated by specific kinds of fairly precise mechanical stimuli (moderate forces applied in a preferential direction); others exhibited a coarse mechanical sensitivity. In addition, electrical stimulation was applied to the maxillary bone to determine the conduction velocities of the relevant fibers. These mainly ranged between 1 and 6 m/s, which indicates that the fibers belonged to the small-diameter category (thinnest myelinated and unmyelinated fibers). Similar results were obtained from animals with osseointegrated implants. It was concluded that the alveolar bone is endowed with sensory endings capable of detecting mechanical and thermal changes, and that these receptors may provide compensatory sensitivity in edentulous subjects whose main (periodontal) sensitivity has been eliminated. (INT J ORAL MAXILLOFAC IMPLANTS 1996;11:800–805)

Key words: alveolar bone, cat, gasserian ganglion, microelectrode, sensory receptor

Full Text PDF File | Order Article

 

 

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files. This is a free program available from the Adobe web site.
Follow the download directions on the Adobe web site to get your copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.