Morphometric difference in the human maxillary nerve fibers between dentulous and edentulous jaw subjects

Okajimas Folia Anat Jpn. 2005 Mar;81(6):129-34. doi: 10.2535/ofaj.81.129.

Abstract

This study was conducted to quantify the change in the number and size of myelinated nerve fibers of the maxillary nerve with tooth loss in humans. We carried out a morphometric analysis to compare the number and size of myelinated nerve fibers in the human maxillary nerve between four dentulous and four edentulous jaw cases. Our results indicated that the number of axons decreased by approximately 13,000 with tooth loss. The average size of axons remained unchanged, but there was a change in the fiber size distribution, namely the loss of a large number of small-sized axons was accompanied by the total disappearance of small number of large-sized axons.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Axons / pathology
  • Cell Count
  • Cell Size
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Jaw / innervation*
  • Jaw / physiopathology
  • Jaw, Edentulous / physiopathology*
  • Male
  • Maxillary Nerve / pathology*
  • Maxillary Nerve / physiopathology
  • Middle Aged
  • Nerve Degeneration / pathology*
  • Nerve Degeneration / physiopathology
  • Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / pathology
  • Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated / pathology
  • Neurons, Afferent / pathology
  • Tooth / innervation*
  • Tooth / physiopathology
  • Tooth Loss / physiopathology*