Periodontal ligament/Bone 3

Oxytalan fibres

This is a slide of the periodontal ligament of a rat which has been pre-oxidised and then stained with a stain for elastin. With this staining regime, the oxytalan fibres stain purple in colour and appear to run down from the cementum near the cervical margin to end in the vicinity of capillaries. Oxytalan fibres will only stain with elastin-specific stains if the section has been pre-oxidised. They are immature elastin fibres with only the microfibrillar component and no 'elastin' core. They appear to originate in the cementum in the region of the cervical margin and terminate in the vicinity of blood vessels. Their function is unknown but they represent one of the numerous 'immature' characteristics of the periodontal ligament.

The oxytalan fibres are very fine and to see them clearly you will need to use the highest magnification.