A variety of conditions affecting the anatomic and functional characteristics of the temporomandibular joint. Factors contributing to the complexity of temporomandibular diseases are its relation to dentition and mastication and the symptomatic effects in other areas which account for referred pain to the joint and the difficulties in applying traditional diagnostic procedures to temporomandibular joint pathology where tissue is rarely obtained and x-rays are often inadequate or nonspecific. Common diseases are developmental abnormalities, trauma, subluxation, luxation, arthritis, and neoplasia. (From Thoma's Oral Pathology, 6th ed, pp577-600)

An articulation between the condyle of the mandible and the articular tubercle of the temporal bone.

A plate of fibrous tissue that divides the temporomandibular joint into an upper and lower cavity. The disc is attached to the articular capsule and moves forward with the condyle in free opening and protrusion. (Boucher's Clinical Dental Terminology, 4th ed, p92)

Pain in the facial region including orofacial pain and craniofacial pain. Associated conditions include local inflammatory and neoplastic disorders and neuralgic syndromes involving the trigeminal, facial, and glossopharyngeal nerves. Conditions which feature recurrent or persistent facial pain as the primary manifestation of disease are referred to as FACIAL PAIN SYNDROMES.

A symptom complex consisting of pain, muscle tenderness, clicking in the joint, and limitation or alteration of mandibular movement. The symptoms are subjective and manifested primarily in the masticatory muscles rather than the temporomandibular joint itself. Etiologic factors are uncertain but include occlusal dysharmony and psychophysiologic factors.

An intermediate stage between polytheism and monotheism, which assumes a "Great Spirit", with lesser deities subordinated. With the beginnings of shamanism there was the advent of the medicine man or witch doctor, who assumed a supervisory relation to disease and its cure. Formally, shamanism is a religion of Ural-Altaic peoples of Northern Asia and Europe, characterized by the belief that the unseen world of gods, demons, ancestral spirits is responsive only to shamans. The Indians of North and South America entertain religious practices similar to the Ural-Altaic shamanism. The word shaman comes from the Tungusic (Manchuria and Siberia) saman, meaning Buddhist monk. The shaman handles disease almost entirely by psychotherapeutic means; he frightens away the demons of disease by assuming a terrifying mien. (From Garrison, An Introduction to the History of Medicine, 4th ed, p22; from Webster, 3d ed)

An increased response to stimulation that is mediated by amplification of signaling in the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS).

The posterior process on the ramus of the mandible composed of two parts: a superior part, the articular portion, and an inferior part, the condylar neck.

Fixation and immobility of a joint.

A disorder characterized by grinding and clenching of the teeth.

Rare, benign, chronic, progressive metaplasia in which cartilage is formed in the synovial membranes of joints, tendon sheaths, or bursae. Some of the metaplastic foci can become detached producing loose bodies. When the loose bodies undergo secondary calcification, the condition is called synovial osteochondromatosis.

Congenital or acquired asymmetry of the face.

A progressive, degenerative joint disease, the most common form of arthritis, especially in older persons. The disease is thought to result not from the aging process but from biochemical changes and biomechanical stresses affecting articular cartilage. In the foreign literature it is often called osteoarthrosis deformans.

Muscles arising in the zygomatic arch that close the jaw. Their nerve supply is masseteric from the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve. (From Stedman, 25th ed)

Two of the masticatory muscles: the internal, or medial, pterygoid muscle and external, or lateral, pterygoid muscle. Action of the former is closing the jaws and that of the latter is opening the jaws, protruding the mandible, and moving the mandible from side to side.

Pain in the joint.

Either of a pair of compound bones forming the lateral (left and right) surfaces and base of the skull which contains the organs of hearing. It is a large bone formed by the fusion of parts: the squamous (the flattened anterior-superior part), the tympanic (the curved anterior-inferior part), the mastoid (the irregular posterior portion), and the petrous (the part at the base of the skull).

A hereditary disease of the hip joints in dogs. Signs of the disease may be evident any time after 4 weeks of age.

Rigid or flexible appliances that overlay the occlusal surfaces of the teeth. They are used to treat clenching and bruxism and their sequelae, and to provide temporary relief from muscle or temporomandibular joint pain.

Also known as articulations, these are points of connection between the ends of certain separate bones, or where the borders of other bones are juxtaposed.

A registration of any positional relationship of the mandible in reference to the maxillae. These records may be any of the many vertical, horizontal, or orientation relations. (Jablonski, Illustrated Dictionary of Dentistry)

The largest and strongest bone of the FACE constituting the lower jaw. It supports the lower teeth.

The force applied by the masticatory muscles in dental occlusion.

A type of CARTILAGE whose matrix contains large bundles of COLLAGEN TYPE I. Fibrocartilage is typically found in the INTERVERTEBRAL DISK; PUBIC SYMPHYSIS; TIBIAL MENISCI; and articular disks in synovial JOINTS. (From Ross et. al., Histology, 3rd ed., p132,136)

A masticatory muscle whose action is closing the jaws.

Tomography using x-ray transmission.

Drugs that bind to but do not activate SEROTONIN 5-HT2 RECEPTORS, thereby blocking the actions of SEROTONIN or SEROTONIN 5-HT2 RECEPTOR AGONISTS. Included under this heading are antagonists for one or more specific 5-HT2 receptor subtypes.

Scales, questionnaires, tests, and other methods used to assess pain severity and duration in patients or experimental animals to aid in diagnosis, therapy, and physiological studies.

The sac enclosing a joint. It is composed of an outer fibrous articular capsule and an inner SYNOVIAL MEMBRANE.