A histochemical study of hyaline bodies in odontogenic cysts and a comparison to the human secondary dental cuticle

1. 1. Human radicular odontogenic cysts were subjected to a variety of stains and histochemical reactions that had been used previously to identify the human secondary dental cuticle. 2. 2. Similar reactions were noted between the hyaline bodies in the radicular cysts and the dental cuticle. These reactions suggested, within the limitations of the staining reactions employed, that the two structures had similar composition. 3. 3. Such composition, while suggestive of keratin in some respects, differs from keratin in that it is orceinophilic, reacts for tryptophan, and does not react for tyrosine. 4. 4. It is postulated that the substance of the dental cuticle and the hyaline bodies is intimately associated with epithelium of odontogenesis and may be derived therefrom.