Open AccessApical Cyst Theory: a Missing Link
Author(s) -
George T.J. Huang
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
dental hypotheses
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.164
H-Index - 10
ISSN - 2155-8213
DOI - 10.5436/j.dehy.2010.1.00013
Subject(s) - cyst , connective tissue , abscess , epithelium , stratified squamous epithelium , pathology , anatomy , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , surgery
The mechanism of the formation of apical cyst has been elusive. Several theories have long been proposed and discussed speculating how an apical cyst is developed and formed in the jaw bone resulting from endododontic infection. Two popular theories are the nutritional deficiency theory and the abscess theory. The nutritional deficiency theory assumes that the over proliferated epithelial cells will form a ball mass such that the cells in the center of the mass will be deprived of nutrition. The abscess theory postulates that when an abscess cavity is formed in connective tissue, epithelial cells proliferate and line the preexisting cavity because of their inherent tendency to cover exposed connective tissue surfaces. Based on the nature of epithelial cells and the epithelium, nutritional theory is a fairy tale, while abscess theory at best just indicates that abscess may be one of the factors that allows the stratified epithelium to form but not to explain a mechanism that makes the cyst to form.