title: Effect of condylotomy on DNA synthesis in cells of the mandibular condylar cartilage in the rat.
abstract: The role of articular forces and the periosteal envelope in the regulation of condylar cartilage growth is uncertain. Transection of the condylar neck, or condylotomy, influences both by a temporary reduction of articular forces and a transient release of the ramus periosteal envelope. To investigate the effects of this procedure on proliferative activity of the prechondroblast layer of the condylar cartilage, bilateral condylotomies were performed on 29-day-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. A surgical control group underwent identical incision without condylotomy and a non-operated third group also served as controls. Eighteen hours after surgery, there was no difference in [3H]-thymidine incorporation among the different treatment groups. However, by two days after surgery, [3H]-thymidine incorporation was significantly higher in the condylotomy group than in either surgical or untreated controls. Incorporation values remained significantly higher in condylotomy animals at seven days after surgery, but declined to control levels by 14 days after surgery. These findings support other radioautographic and cephalometric evidence of an increased growth rate of the condylar cartilage after condylotomy, but suggest that the increase may be transient and perhaps related to the disruption and restoration of articular function.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000378:metabolism*; D002455:Cell Division; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D008335:Mandibular Condyle / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D004247:DNA