doi:10.1111/iej.
12213
Letter to the Editor
Who coined the term radix entomolaris?
Dear Editor
The Latin term radix entomolaris (RE) was coined by
Mih
aly Lenhoss
ek to describe the supernumerary root
on the lingual aspect of mandibular molars (Len-
hoss
ek 1922). As a possible reason for endodontic
failure and as a local factor contributing to the pro-
gression of advanced periodontal disease, this root has
become the subject of numerous studies over the last
two decades. This letter aims to draw attention to the
incorrect attribution of the term RE to various
authors in the recent literature.
A review of the recent literature reveals that most
authors (De Moor et al. 2004, Calberson et al. 2007,
Tu et al. 2007, 2009, Sch€ afer et al. 2009, Garg et al.
2010, Gu et al. 2010, Abella et al. 2011, 2012,
Wang et al. 2011) wrongly credit Lodewijk Bolk
(1915) with being the author of the term RE. More-
over, some authors (Yang et al. 2010, Chandra et al.
2011) wrongly attribute this term to Georg Carabelli
(1844) and some (Reichart & Metah 1981, Huang
et al. 2007, Chen et al. 2009, Kim et al. 2013) even
to various current researchers working in this specific
area (Boer 1973, Carlsen & Alexandersen 1990, De
Moor et al. 2004). All these papers have been pub-
lished in distinguished scientific journals. For this rea-
son, it is necessary to describe briefly the history of
terminology related to this additional root.
Carabelli (1844) was the first to provide a short
description of this root, but without naming it. Bolk
(1915) named it radix praemolarica, as he thought
that it occured only on the first mandibular molars
and represented the last manifestation of the third
premolar, which was lost during the evolution of pri-
mates. However, repudiating Bolk’s idea, this addi-
tional root was later found on the second and third
mandibular molars and even on the first and second
primary mandibular molars. In recognition of this,
Lenhoss
ek (1922) renamed it RE to indicate its posi-
tion on the inner (lingual) side of the tooth (Greek:
entos – within). Current authors mostly use the fol-
lowing positional terms instead of, or interchangeably
with, RE: distolingual root, distolingual extra root,
additional distal root and extradistal root. However,
on the second and third permanent mandibular
810 International Endodontic Journal, 47, 810–811, 2014
molars, the RE may be located mesiolingually or
exactly midway between both main roots (Carlsen &
Alexandersen 1990). Therefore, the advantage of the
term RE over positional terms is that it covers all
variants of this root and therefore applies to all types
of mandibular molars.
It is a natural temptation for authors, when refer-
ring to statements from such old scientific literature
as cited above, to simply rely on what is written in
the latest articles rather than find and read the origi-
nal work. The adverse effects of such practice should
be immediately evident from the above.

I. Stamfelj 1,2
1
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Dental Diseases
and Normal Dental Morphology,
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
2
Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics,
University Medical Centre Ljubljana,
Ljubljana, Slovenia
E-mail: iztok.stamfelj@mf.uni-lj.si
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Letter to the Editor
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