TOOTH FOLLICLE AND ITS CONNEXIONS 319 



no connexion with the connecting band or bridges ; they 

 appear to form, as Warwick James suggests they do in the tem- 

 porary tooth follicle, a secondary system established by the 

 anastomosis of the buds, and in the permanent tooth follicle 

 they are apparently cut off from connexion with the oral 

 epithelium. 



Figs. 208, 209, 210 show the broad masses of epithelium 

 at the inner margin of the follicle, the positions of which 

 are indicated in the diagram. 



FIG. 207. Fenestrated membrane at the centre of the follicle margin 

 at the point where a prolongation of the cells passes between the enamel 

 cusps. ( x 750.) 



It is seen that while some of these cells, especially those 

 in contact with the enamel organ, are flattened and arranged 

 in many layers, deeper in, a network of epithelial cells is 

 present which show no apparent signs of degeneration. In 

 fig. 209 it can be seen that rounded cell accumulations are 

 present, resembling cell nests, and in many places show 

 multiple nuclei. They are apparently undergoing amitotic 

 division in this situation, and it has been shown that 

 this form of cell division in which the nucleus divides with 

 or without the division of the cell body is generally found 

 in stratified epithelia when undergoing degenerative changes 

 such as keratinization. 1 In this case there is no division of 

 the cell body but merely of the nucleus, and in many cells 

 1 Schafer, E. A., Microscopic Anatomy, p. 96. 



