Comparative dental development and microstructure of ... - UCL

DENTAL DEVELOPMENT IN PROCONSUL
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Figure 6. Daily lines in dentine in (a) the midline axial plane of the cusp of a juvenile M 1 of P. heseloni
and (b) daily lines in the cervical dentine of the adult permanent M 1 . (Transmitted light. Original
magnification 500. Fieldwidth 120 μm in both micrographs.)
using cuspal enamel formation times and the
total buccal stria or perikymata counts was
straightforward in both species of Proconsul.
One method of estimating total enamel formation
times in molars of P. heseloni in
unworn tooth sections was by summing the
estimate for mesiobuccal cusp formation
time with that for lateral enamel formation
time estimated from the same mesiobuccal
aspect. In order to be objective and consistent
on all occasions the mesiobuccal cusp of
P. heseloni molars, which contains the first
formed enamel, was used and the number
of additional striae in the lateral enamel of
that same cusp to the end of enamel formation
was counted. A second method of
estimating crown formation times was by
using incremental markings in dentine when
possible as described above. A third method
of estimating crown formation times in P.
heseloni was to combine the histological estimates
for the cuspal enamel formation times