Patterns of Blood Supply to Teeth and Adjacent Tissues

Abstract

The vascular patterns of the teeth of rat, rabbit, opossum, and hamster are basically similar. The blood supply of the teeth comes from (1) periosteal vessels, (2) vessels emanating from the medullary portion of adjacent bone, (3) vessels which supply adjacent or closely related musculature, and (4) the intrinsic named arteries (such as the superior alveolar or the inferior alveolar.). Every tooth is surrounded by a periodontal plexus which lies between the external surface of the tooth and the compact bone of the alveolus. The tooth''s intrinsic supply, comprising the pulp vessels, may be derived directly from named arteries or from arteries of the medullary bone.