Читать книгу Feline Dentistry - Jan Bellows - Страница 23

The cat's oral cavity is lined with keratinized and nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium. Gingiva refers to the keratinized oral mucosa that covers the alveolar process and surrounds the cervical portion of the tooth crowns. Unlike the epithelial lining of the digestive tract, the gingiva does not have absorptive capacity but acts as a physiologic permeable barrier that protects underlying structures from the invasion of microorganisms and other foreign substances (Figure 1.6).

The gingival epithelium is composed of the following:

 The oral epithelium, also called the outer gingival epithelium, is keratinized or parakeratinized and covers the oral surface of the attached gingiva and gingival papillae.

 The sulcular epithelium is a nonkeratinized extension of the oral epithelium into the gingival sulcus. The bottom of the gingival sulcus in a periodontally healthy tooth should be slightly coronal to the cementoenamel junction.

 The junctional epithelium attaches to enamel of the most apical portion of the crown by means of hemidesmosomes and lies at the floor of the sulcus, immediately coronal to or at the cementoenamel junction. The junctional epithelium and gingival connective tissue separate the periodontal ligament from the oral environment. The floor of the gingival sulcus is apically bounded by junctional epithelial cells.