ABSTRACT
Following the demonstration in 1970 that prostaglandins (PGs) could cause bone resorption, one of the first associations between PG synthesis and pathological bone resorption was in the dental cyst. Dental cysts are benign lesions causing bone destruction in the mandible or maxilla which are usually detected on routine radiography or occasionally when they produce swelling. There are three main groups of cyst which occur in the jaws: odontogenic cysts, fissurai cysts, and bone cysts. Follicular cysts are formed from the reduced enamel epithelium around the tooth crown. They have a stratified squamous epithelium of variable thickness with a surrounding connective tissue capsule with little or no inflammatory infiltration. Apical cysts is the most common type of cyst and it arises from epithelial cells (the cell rests of Malassez) around the apex of nonvital teeth. The epithelial lining of the cyst is variable, it may be absent in some areas or keratinized.
