The first comprehensive studies on root canal anatomy were published in the 1840s, with further contributions in the late 19th century using techniques like sectioning teeth and injecting materials into canals. In the early 20th century, improved methods like injecting celluloid or paraffin allowed for more detailed studies of variations. Landmark publications in the 1950s and 1960s further characterized the complex and variable nature of root canal anatomy using wax models and clearing techniques.

1. Marco A. Versiani Jesus D. Pécora Manoel D. Sousa-Neto
A Brief History of the First Studies on the
Root Canal Anatomy
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.“
Winston Churchill
http://rootcanalanatomy.blogspot.com/

2. The first comprehensive and systematic description of root canal anatomy was
published by CARABELLI (1842). He published drawings of sectioned teeth
detailing the root canal system…

3. …and the external morphology of all groups of teeth.

4. MUHLREITER (1870) was probably the first one to investigate
vigorously the root canal anatomy. He sectioned the teeth in all
planes and described the internal anatomy with details.

5. Em 1890, BLACK also contributed with the study of the root canal
anatomy in the first edition of his book.

6. Atlas of Dental Histology
Em 1892, GYSI
presented impressive
pictures of histological
sections of the tooth
showing the
complexity of the
internal anatomy.

7. PREISWERCK (1901) injected molten metal within the pulp chamber, and after
complete decalcification of the tooth, he obtained a metal model of the
internal anatomy.

8. FISCHER (1907) obtained better results using celluloid
instead of metal. However, celluloid was fragile, so
small ramifications of the replicas broke easily.

9. In later years, other materials and techniques were used to obtain replicas of the root
canal system.
DEWEY (1916) injected parafin to study the root canal anatomy.

10. The earliest description of the highly
variable root canal anatomy was published
by HESS (1917). He injected the root canals
with vulcanized rubber and then removed
the hard tissue by decalcification. His
highly impressive material is still valuable
to the study of the root canal anatomy.

12. OKUMURA (1918-1926) studied the internal anatomy of the teeth using injection
of dye and diaphanization and classified the root canals in relation to their
anatomical distribution.

13. CLYDE DAVIS (1923) studied the anatomy of the apical third
using ground sections of the tooth.

14. BARRET (1925) studied the dental anatomy using serial histological sections.

15. In Latin America, using ground
sections of the tooth, PUCCI & REIG
(1944) were the first researchers to
publish a study on the root canal
anatomy.

16. Meyer & Scheele (1955) using wax models
demonstrated numerous lateral canals in the
apical third of the root.
Meyer W, Scheele E (1955). Die Anatomie der Wurzelkanäle der oberen Frontzähne. Detsch Zahnärztl Z, 10:1041-1045

17. 1955 Triple O
1958

18. In Brazil, DE DEUS (1960) was the first author to study systematically the root
canal anatomy of all dental groups using clearing technique (diaphanization).

19. VERTUCCI & WILLIAMS (1974/1984) using cleared teeth found a complex root
canal system and identified eight configurations of the pulp space.

20. Some results of a 20-year study on the internal anatomy of more than 15,000 teeth
performed in our department using clearing technique.