Ultrastructure of the articular cartilage of the mandibular condyle: aging and degeneration.

To obtain more insight into the pathogenesis of osteoarthrosis of the temporomandibular joint, we examined the ultrastructure of articular cartilage of six healthy and sixteen osteoarthrotic human mandibular condyles. Ultrastructural changes due to aging and osteoarthrosis are described and compared with the findings of other ultrastructural studies of articular cartilage of synovial joints. Aging was accompanied by some slight degenerative signs. Osteoarthrotic hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage showed a striking similarity. The only ultrastructural difference was the presence of elastic fibers in the latter. Therefore, both seem to have the same pathogenesis. Several current statements on the pathogenesis of osteoarthrosis are discussed.