Summary
1. A function of Nasmyth’s membrane is to protect the enamel of teeth from the resorptive activity of the adjacent vascular tissue prior to the eruption of the crown portion of the tooth into the mouth cavity.
2. It is part of an epithelial mantle which everywhere protects the enamel and dentine of the teeth from the vascular tissue of the tooth follicle and pulp. Hertwig’s sheath and the odontoblasts are other portions of this epithelium. In such conditions as the resorption of deciduous teeth and idiopathic resorption of teeth (“pink spot”), this protective barrier is broken through, leading to destruction of dentine and/or enamel.
3. Cement replaces Hertwig’s sheath as root formation proceeds and has a similar protective action. Between the break-up of the epithelial sheath and the deposition of cement a limited resorption of dentine takes place, producing the granular layer of Tomes.
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From the Department of Anatomy, Queen’s University, Belfast.
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Scott, J.H. Nasmyth’s membrane. Ir J Med Sci 26, 334–337 (1951). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02957750
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02957750