A radiographic study of age changes in the skull, mandible and teeth of pigs

Abstract

Summary: Radiographs were taken, of the medially sectioned half heads and flesh-free mandibles of 32 pigs serially slaughtered between birth and 120 kg live weight. From these radiographs, measurements were taken of the length of the skull, the depth of the cranium, the length and depth of the brain cavity, and five separate measurements of the mandible. Observations were made of the changes in configuration of the skull as a whole including sinuses. The patterns of development and eruption of the deciduous and permanent teeth were examined. It is suggested that the elongation of the mandible and the maxilla necessary to accommodate the full permanent dentition, together with the increasing size of the frontal sinuses, has an important influence on the shape of the skull as a whole. The results are discussed in relation to other published descriptions of the chronological development of the teeth.