title: Presence of calcified tissue in the human temporomandibular joint disc.
abstract: Large calcified areas were observed in the articular discs of the temporomandibular joint from five patients suffering from articular dysfunctions. The calcified regions were always located inside the fibrous tissue of the discs. They had a woven bone-like morphological pattern and consisted of a compact mineralized tissue containing cells in irregular lacunae. In all the samples the calcified tissue was completely surrounded by a mineralizing border rich in cells and variously arranged collagen fibrils. Energy-dispersive spectrometry showed that mineralized regions contained large amounts of Ca and P. X-ray powder diffraction identified the crystals in these areas as hydroxyapatite.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Istologia ed Embriologia Generale, Universita(c) di Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marchetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernasconi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reguzzoni
mesh_terms: D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000473:pathology; D002114:Calcinosis / Q000473:pathology*; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D003094:Collagen / Q000032:analysis; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D017886:Durapatite / Q000032:analysis; D004577:Electron Probe Microanalysis; D006801:Humans; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D019224:Temporomandibular Joint Disc / Q000473:pathology*; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000473:pathology; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D010758:Phosphorus; D003094:Collagen; D017886:Durapatite; D002118:Calcium