Anatomy of the Temporomandibular Joint

Alomar, X.; Medrano, J.; Cabratosa, J.; Clavero, J.A.; Lorente, M.; Serra, I.; Monill, J.M.; Salvador, A.

doi:10.1053/j.sult.2007.02.002

« Previous Next »Seminars in Ultrasound, CT and MRI
Volume 28, Issue 3 , Pages 170-183, June 2007

Anatomy of the Temporomandibular Joint

X. Alomar, MD
- Department of Radiology, Creu Blanca, Barcelona, Spain.
- Address reprint requests to Dr. Xavier Alomar, Department of Radiology, Clinica Creu Blanca, Paseo Reina Elisenda de Montcada, 17, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
J. Medrano, MD
- International University of Catalunya (UIC), Clinical Residency in TMD, Barcelona, Spain.
J. Cabratosa, MD
- International University of Catalunya (UIC), Clinical Residency in TMD, Barcelona, Spain.
J.A. Clavero, MD
- Department of Radiology, Creu Blanca, Barcelona, Spain.
M. Lorente, MD
- Department of Anatomy and Embriology, International University of Catalunya; Barcelona, Spain.
I. Serra, MD
- Department of Anatomy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
J.M. Monill, MD
- Department of Radiology, Creu Blanca, Barcelona, Spain.
A. Salvador, MD
- Department of Radiology, Creu Blanca, Barcelona, Spain.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ), also known as the mandibular joint, is an ellipsoid variety of the right and left synovial joints forming a bicondylar articulation. The common features of the synovial joints exhibited by this joint include a fibrous capsule, a disk, synovial membrane, fluid, and tough adjacent ligaments. Not only is the mandible a single bone but the cranium is also mechanically a single stable component; therefore, the correct terminology for the joint is the craniomandibular articulation. The term temporomandibular joint is misleading and seems to only refer to one side when referring to joint function. Magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to accurately delineate the structures of the TMJ and is the best technique to correlate and compare the TMJ components such as bone, disk, fluid, capsule, and ligaments with autopsy specimens.