Histomorphometric analysis of cartilage and subchondral bone in mandibular condyles of young XXXX adults at autopsy.

@entity1 @entity5072 @entity1184
After demineralization, sagittal sections were made from the lateral, the central and the medial parts of 33 mandibular condyles from @entity1 aged 20 to 36 years, and studied for undifferentiated mesenchymal (UM) cells, cartilage and subchondral bone, the thickness of which were measured. Two condyles showed a continuous layer of UM cells extending all over. In 13 condyles, UM cells were absent; 18 condyles showed variability in UM cell occurrence in one or more out of the nine standardized areas. In 14 condyles, non- @entity1184 cartilage was present, 10 condyles showed @entity1184 cartilage and in nine condyles hyperplastic cartilage. @entity5072 cartilage was associated with minimal numbers of UM cells. In combination with @entity1184 cartilage the UM cell layer appeared less irregular. Of nine condyles with incongruence of the cartilage-bone interface and the articular surface, seven showed hyperplastic cartilage. Six out of these seven were free of bony changes. A negative correlation was found between the presence of UM cells and the condylar-cartilage thickness (p less than 0.05). These results suggest that condylar changes are initiated by alterations in the cartilage and that changes in the bone are secondary.
