2. Connective tissue:
The gingival connective tissue is composed of gingival fibers,
ground substance, and cells, including neural and vascular elements.
The bulk of the gingival connective tissue is composed of a dense, predominantly
collagenous matrix that contains collagen fibers running in recognized fiber groups.
These are referred to as the principal fibers
of the gingival connective tissue. The dense gingival connective tissue is referred
to as a lamina propria. It consists of
the papillary layer, finger-like projections of
connective tissue that are contained within depressions on the undersurface of the
overlying epithelium, and the reticular layer,
located between the epithelial undersurface and the root surface or adjacent alveolar
process. At its junction with the lining mucosa, in the region delineated by the mucogingival junction, the lamina propria
becomes continuous with the much looser and elastic connective tissue of the alveolar submucosa.
The major components of the gingival connective tissue include the fibers, the ground substance or intercellular matrix, assorted cells, blood and lymphatic vessels, and nerves. The ground substance occupies the space between cells, fibers and neurovascular elements. Its major constituents are water, glycoproteins and proteoglycans. The ground substance permits the diffusion of biological substances between various structural elements.
a. Gingival fibers:
Most of the fibers are composed of collagen, with minor contributions from elastic fibers and oxytalan fibers. Elastic and oxytalan fibers are generally confined to perivascular regions, although oxytalan fibers are also found as thin fiber bundles within collagen-rich regions like the lamina propria.
Fig. 25: Transmission electron micrograph of gingival connective tissue. Note the
relatively dense packing of the collagen fibers that make up most of the background in
this micrograph. A large collagen fiber (CF) consisting of hundreds of collagen fibrils is
outlined. C, capillary blood vessel containing a single erythrocyte; FB, fibroblasts.
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University © 1999. All rights reserved. Created: May 8, 1999 Revised: URL: Max A. Listgarten: Comments to author: max@listgarten.com (Technical Support: Center for Dental Informatics: Heiko Spallek) |
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