A condensation of odontoblasts that forms the part of a tooth germ that gives rise to dentin and pulp in the mature tooth. It lies below a cellular aggregation known as the enamel organ.
Comment:
[development-note] "In humans, the dental papilla appears after 8-10 weeks intra uteral life"; [homology-note] "Teeth and tooth-like structures, together named odontodes, are repeated organs thought to share a common evolutionary origin. These structures can be found in gnathostomes at different locations along the body: oral teeth in the jaws, teeth and denticles in the oral-pharyngeal cavity, and dermal denticles on elasmobranch skin.[uncertain][VHOG]" xsd:string {date_retrieved="2012-09-17", external_class="VHOG:0001465", ontology="VHOG", source="DOI:10.1186/1471-2148-11-307 The homology of odontodes in gnathostomes: insights from Dlx gene expression in the dogfish, Scyliorhinus canicula. BMC Evolutionary Biology (2011)", source="http://bgee.unil.ch/"}