A radiologic and anatomic study of internal derangements of the temporomandibular joint.

Fifteen temporomandibular joints (TMJs) in unfixed cadavers were examined clinically and then arthrograms were made. Eleven of the TMJ disks were mechanically displaced anteriorly before the arthrograms were made. The joints were removed, fixed, frozen, and sectioned perpendicular to the long axis of the condyle in 2 mm slices. The arthrograms of the joint were compared with arthrograms of each individual section and the original tissue slices to determine whether there was a definite correlation with true anatomic relationships. Because of the complexity of the internal morphology of the hard and soft tissues in the TMJ, no accurate or consistent conclusions about the actual physical relationships could be made by means of arthrogram.