The Posterior Segment of the Temporomandibular Joint Capsule and Its Anatomic Relationship

Mérida-Velasco, J. Ramón; Rodríguez, J. Francisco; de la Cuadra, Crótida; Peces, M. Dolores; Mérida, J. Antonio; Sánchez, Indalecio

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2005.11.099

« Previous Next »Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 65, Issue 1 , Pages 30-33, January 2007

The Posterior Segment of the Temporomandibular Joint Capsule and Its Anatomic Relationship

J. Ramón Mérida-Velasco, MD, DDS, PhD
- Director, Instituto de Ciencias Morfofuncionales y del Deporte, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Mérida-Velasco: Instituto de Ciencias Morfofuncionales y del Deporte, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense, 28040 Madrid
J. Francisco Rodríguez, MD, DDS, PhD
- Professor, Instituto de Ciencias Morfofuncionales y del Deporte, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Crótida de la Cuadra, MD, PhD
- Professor, Instituto de Ciencias Morfofuncionales y del Deporte, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
M. Dolores Peces, PhD
- Professor, Departamento de Anatomía y Embriología Humana I, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
J. Antonio Mérida, MD, PhD
- Professor, Departamento de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.
Indalecio Sánchez, MD, PhD
- Professor, Departamento de Anatomía y Embriología Humana, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain.

Purpose

The aim of this work was to clarify the arrangement of the posterior segment of the temporomandibular joint capsule and its pertinent relationships.

Materials and Methods

The temporomandibular region was dissected bilaterally in 20 adult cadavers. Natural stained latex was injected into 16 cadavers through the external carotid artery to facilitate the dissection of the arterial vessels.

Results

The posterior segment of the joint capsule is made up of the so-called “bilaminar zone” of the articular disc. The upper internal portion of the posterior segment of the capsule was reinforced by the discomalleolar ligament. The retroarticular space was filled with loose connective tissue and the anterior branches of the anterior tympanic artery were distributed throughout the posterior segment of the joint capsule.

Conclusion

The posterior segment of the temporomandibular joint capsule corresponds to the bilaminar zone of the articular disc. The structures of the retroarticular space are extracapsular.