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The mandibular canal rarely penetrates the apically fused tooth roots. In this report, we describe three cases of patients in whom the mandibular canal ran between the roots of embedded mandibular teeth with apical fusion. Case 1: A 43-year-old man presented with a completely embedded left mandibular first molar and a swollen gingiva. Cone beam computed tomography revealed apical root fusion and a mandibular canal penetrating the root. Case 2: Cone-beam computed tomography of a 39-year-old female revealed root apical fusion and a mandibular canal between the roots. Case 3: Cone-beam computed tomography of a 30-year-old female with a fully erupted left mandibular third molar revealed a ring of diverging roots fused to the root apex. The mandibular canal runs between the mandibular roots. All three patients were treated under general anesthesia and developed postoperative inferior alveolar nerve palsy; however, their sensory function recovered over time. The prognosis was good in all patients, none of whom experienced any other complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mammary glands are dynamic tissues affected by pregnancy-related hormones during the pregnancy-lactation cycle. Collagen production and its dynamics are essential to the remodeling of the mammary glands. Alterations of the mammary microenvironment and stromal cells during the pregnancy-lactation cycle are important for understanding the physiology of the mammary glands and the development of breast tumors. In this study, we performed an evaluation of collagen dynamics in the mammary fat pad during the pregnancy-lactation cycle. Reanalysis of single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data showed the ectopic collagen expression in the immune cells and cell-cell interactions for collagens with single-cell resolution. The scRNA-Seq data showed that type I and type III collagen were produced not only by stromal fibroblasts but also by lymphoid and myeloid cell types in the pregnancy phase. Furthermore, the total cell-cell interaction score for collagen interactions was dramatically increased in the pregnancy tissue. The data presented in this study provide evidence that immune cells contribute, at least in part, to mammary collagen dynamics. Our findings suggest that immune cells, including lymphoid and myeloid cells, might be supportive members of the extracellular matrix orchestration in the pregnancy-lactation cycle of the mammary glands. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our study evaluated mammary gland collagen dynamics during the pregnancy-lactation cycle using single-cell RNA-sequencing data. We found ectopic collagen expression in immune cells and an increase in collagen interactions during pregnancy. Type I and type III collagen were produced by lymphoid, myeloid, and stromal fibroblast cells during pregnancy. These findings suggest that immune cells, including lymphoid and myeloid cells, play a crucial role in supporting the extracellular matrix in mammary glands during pregnancy-lactation cycles.