A technique for isolating the enamel organ of the rat incisor for histologic studies

abstract — The present report describes a new method for rapidly and gently isolating the enamel organ of the rat incisor for use in histologic studies. Incisors from 3-month-old rats were fixed by perfusion with glutaraldehyde or formaldehyde. The jaws were trimmed, and, using a technique that controlled the fracture of the alveolar bone, the enamel organ was denuded along its entire length. After 3 d in an EDTA solution, the denuded enamel organ could be isolated in three parts. The apical cone representing the growing end of the incisor was cut off. The intermediate portion adjacent to the thick, immature enamel was separated from the dentin by blunt dissection, and the remaining part on the mature enamel was readily lifted away from the tooth surface. The specimens were dehydrated, taking special precautions against twisting due to shrinkage, and embedded in polyester wax. Sections of such enamel organs show excellent cellular preservation with no disruption of histologic relationships.