252 MICROSCOPIC ANATOMY OF THE TEETH 



normal dentine, but they are collected into bunches or 

 extend as radiating irregular prolongations. This deposit 

 may apparently take place as a normal physiological process, 

 but is usually a pathological one, more or less associated 

 with degenerative changes. We know that calcification may 

 take place in any degenerating tissue deprived of its natural 

 blood supply, as occurs in many tissues and organs under 

 such conditions. 



Secondary deposits in the pulp cavity are met with 



FIG. 154. Pulp stone in Elephant's incisor showing incorporation 

 of connective tissue. ( x 350.) 



in great frequency in other Mammalia, and may partake 

 of the characters of osteo- or vaso-dentine. In the Elephant, 

 where the pulp cavity of the tusk has been injured, 

 the deposit of the secondary nodules is an attempt at repair 

 by the active cells of the pulp, and results in the formation 

 of numerous rounded, often concentrically marked bodies, 

 which frequently are seen to be fused into a larger mass 

 (fig. 154). 



The author has shown (15 a) that in the Elephant these 

 masses of calcified matter in the pulp are calcified within 

 a very evident connective-tissue stroma. 



