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PubMed · 2582336

Ghost cells in complex odontoma: a light microscopic and SEM study.

B Kerebel·L M Kerebel
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Abstract

Ghost cells in complex odontoma were studied by light microscopic and scanning electron microscopic examination of decalcified sections. They were found at different locations in odontomas: next to tubular dentin, at the site where enamel would be expected; adjacent to remnants of enamel matrix or surrounded by enamel matrix; within granular calcified masses in contact with bone or tubular dentin; in contact with ameloblasts or adjacent to small rests of odontogenic epithelium. They were either isolated or arranged in groups. Their cytoplasm presented a fibrillar component and a lack of keratohyaline. In a complex odontoma, ghost cell keratinization occurs as a result of metaplastic transformation. The calcifying process in these cells was found to be a passive one, with the cells becoming gradually entrapped within the calcified material--bone, osteoid, dentin, dystrophic osteodentin, or dystrophic granular or lamellar types of calcification. Complex odontomas contain both normal and metaplastic odontogenic epithelial cells, which may have lost their developmental and inductive properties.

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AmeloblastsCalcinosisCytoplasmCytoskeletonEpitheliumHumansKeratinsMicroscopy, Electron, ScanningOdontogenic TumorsOdontomaStaining and LabelingJournal Article

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B Kerebel, L M Kerebel. 1985. Ghost cells in complex odontoma: a light microscopic and SEM study.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-4220(85)90062-3

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