title: Vacuum phenomenon in non-open fracture of the mandibular condyle: report of three cases.
abstract: Gas in the joint space was observed in three patients with condylar fracture who were referred for CT examinations of the mandible. CT showed that the condylar fractures were non-open fractures. The gas was only observed in the intrajoint capsule of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Follow-up CT, 4 days after the initial CT, showed that the gas in the joint space was absorbed in one of three cases. In the non-open condylar fractures, the gas collection in the TMJ was considered to be a vacuum phenomenon due to the intact joint capsule of the TMJ on CT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hokkaido University School of Dentistry, Sapporo, Japan. kminowa@den.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Minowa
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sakakibara
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohmori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroshima
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Totsuka
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitagawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakamura