Donkey dental anatomy. Part 2: Histological and scanning electron microscopic examinations.

This research studied the detailed structure of donkey teeth and found that it’s largely the same as horse teeth, with only a few minor differences.

Research Objective

The study aimed to explore and document the histological and ultrastructural anatomy of donkey teeth. The anatomy was then compared with that of horses, to identify similarities and differences.

• The researchers used ten normal cheek teeth which were extracted post-mortem from donkeys that had either died naturally or were euthanised for humane reasons.

Methodology

The study employed decalcified and undecalcified histology, as well as scanning electron microscopy, to methodically examine and map the tooth structure.

• A total of three sections (sub-occlusal, mid-tooth, and pre-apical) of each tooth were subjected to decalcified histology.
• The same teeth were evaluated again using undecalcified histology, but this time focusing only on the sub-occlusal sections.
• Scanning electron microscopy was performed on the mid-tooth sections of five maxillary cheek teeth, five mandibular cheek teeth, and two incisors.

Findings

In their findings, the researchers were able to identify the presence of primary, regular and irregular secondary dentine, which were found to be strikingly similar to those present in horse teeth.

• No tertiary dentine was discovered in the samples.
• Enamel spindles were also evident in normal enamel histology.
• The ultrastructural anatomy of primary and secondary dentine, along with three types of equine enamel as described in horses, were identified in the donkey teeth.
• Overall, the study concluded that donkey dental anatomy shared a high degree of similarity with equine dental anatomy, with only a few quantitative differences noted.