The rodent incisor tooth proliferon.

The rodent incisor tooth is the site of five cell populations proliferating in harmony: amelocytes, odontocytes, pulp cells, endothelial cells and the periodontal ligament. Their proliferating regions are located in the apex tip, where the various cells originate. Cells displaced from the tooth origin at the apex toward the periphery, mature to perform their specified function. The proliferative events in the tooth are summarized in a conceptual model of the incisor proliferon. The proliferon is an oriented structure with an origin and periphery. It consists of four basic elements: parenchyma, connective tissue, blood vessels and nerve fibres, all interacting continuously. All four are indispensable in the definition of the proliferon.