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During life, the modifications of the dental pulp are important mostly in the root portion. This area, more than the coronal part of the tooth is submitted to involution and histologic dedifferentiation. Fibrosis and calcification occur leading to severe difficulty in performing endodontic treatment.

In the albino rat, at the 21th day of gestation, the capillaries entered the stellate reticulum of the molar and came into contact with the stratum intermedium. This vascular penetration was followed on the 10th day of age by a connective penetration. The stellate reticulum was thus disorganized and was built up by small epithelial islands surrounded by collagen and reticulin fibrils. Finally, the reduced enamel epithelium fused with the oral epithelium and formed the epithelial attachment. After a trophic role, the vascularization, with the help of the connective tissue penetration, had a destructive function. Both vascularization and connective tissue invasion contribute to the enamel organ involution.