The development of strains, forces and nociceptor activity in retrodiscal tissues of the temporomandibular joint of male and female goats.

Chronic pain in the temporomandibular (TM) joint is predominantly manifested in women. We examined biomechanical and neural factors that could contribute to this differential representation. Relationships between jaw rotation, soft tissue strains and soft tissue forces were examined in the goat TM joint.

Muscle attachment to the lateral aspect of the articular disk of the human temporomandibular joint.

Objective: To investigate the anatomic attachments to the lateral aspect of the anterior band of the human temporomandibular joint articular disk.

Material And Methods: Sixteen human cadaver half-heads were dissected and examined macroscopically.

Results: No direct attachment was observed between the deep masseter muscle and the temporomandibular joint articular disk.

Properties of high-threshold mechanoreceptors in the oral mucosa. I. Responses to dynamic and static pressure.

1. Mechanical response properties of high-threshold mechanoreceptors (HTMs) of the goat oral mucosa were determined by single-unit recording from the palatine and alveolar nerves and from the trigeminal ganglion. The following observations were made.

Nerve entrapment in the lateral pterygoid muscle.

The posterior trunk of the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve normally descends deep to the lateral pterygoid muscle. In three of 52 dissections the three main branches of the posterior trunk (lingual, inferior alveolar, and auriculotemporal nerves) were observed to pass through the medial fibers of the lower belly of the lateral pterygoid muscle. The mylohyoid and anterior deep temporal nerves also were observed to pass through the lateral pterygoid muscle in other specimens.

Discomalleolar and anterior malleolar ligaments: possible causes of middle ear damage during temporomandibular joint surgery.

Damage to structures within the middle ear during surgical manipulation of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) has been reported. Two structures are proposed as possible intermediaries in this trauma: the discomalleolar ligament (DML), which passes from the malleus to the medial retrodiscal tissue of the TMJ, and the anterior malleolar ligament (AML), which connects the malleus with the lingula of the mandible via the sphenomandibular ligament (SML). It has been hypothesized that when tension is applied to the DML and/or AML, the resulting movement of the malleus could cause damage to the tympanic membrane and associated structures.

Lingual numbness and speech articulation deviation associated with temporomandibular joint disk displacement.

A prospective investigation of 208 patients with painful, arthrographically verified temporomandibular joint disk displacement revealed that seven patients (3%) demonstrated lingual numbness associated with speech articulation impairment. The speech disorder was characterized primarily by a distortion in the production of /s,r,d, and t/. The lingual numbness and the speech disorder had in all cases started in association with a painful onset of permanent displacement of the temporomandibular joint disk.