Striae of Retzius

As Retzius Strip (also: Retzius - Retzius lines or striae ) are referred to the visible in high magnification, distributed over the entire melting mantle growth lines of the enamel, which run from side to side parallel to each other; they are also referred to as perikymata. In the transverse section of the tooth, the Retzius lines appear as concentric circles. The distance from line to line is between 4 and 150 microns.

The name commemorates the Swedish anatomist and anthropologist Anders Adolf Retzius (1796 - 1860), who had these strips described in 1837 in a study on the embryology and histology of the teeth for the first time correctly as " the traces of different periods of enamel formation ."

The Retzius marks occur because the rhythm of the mineralization is subject to diurnal fluctuations. They are considered the result of a resting phase between two Sekretionsphasen the ameloblasts. Furthermore, can interfere with enamel formation particular physiological events, such as the change of diet after birth ( "birth line ") and feverish, and other serious diseases ( "stress lines "). The Retzius strip thus indicate for each person an individual pattern and can therefore also be evaluated technically criminal. Fossil teeth are used for example in paleoanthropology to reconstruct the rate of development of the youth of the early types of Hominini using these strips.