Human temporomandibular joint disc: anatomy and measurements in prenatal development.

The objective of this study was to determine morphological characteristics and measurements of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disc in human fetuses between 16 and 20 weeks of intrauterine life, and correlate it with oral-facial neuro-muscular maturing. Scanner images were used to record the length of the disc (D) and the thickness of its anterior middle and posterior bands in TMJ anteroposterior vertical sections from human fetuses of 16, 18 and 20 weeks of intrauterine life (WIL). Mean disc length was 1.