Traditional teaching of the anatomy of root canals in different teeth can lead clinicians into the misguided belief that a predetermined number of root canals is always present in any given tooth. A new understanding of the root canal system has enabled the location of additional canals. Results of the clinical study of 760 first mandibular molars, showed that 20 (2.6 per cent) had three canals in the mesial root. Of these 20 teeth, 13 (65 per cent) had an intermediate canal which joined the mesiobuccal canal in the apical third. In six cases (30 per cent) it joined the mesiolingual canal in the same area. In only one case did the intermediate or third canal retain its individual nature and end in an independent foramen.