title: Vascularization of the mandibular condylar head with respect to intracapsular fractures of mandible.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Causes of mandibular condylar (condylar) head necrosis as a consequence of intracapsular mandibular fractures are still a subject of controversy.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate why in some cases of intracapsular fractures condylar head necrosis occurs.
  
  
  METHODS
  58 human heads from the collection of Head and Neck Clinical Anatomy Laboratory, from the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing, Warsaw, Poland, constituted the material.
  
  
  METHODS
  Head arterial tree injections, anatomical preparation with the use of standard set of microsurgical equipment and an operating microscope.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main source of condylar head vascularization is the inferior alveolar artery, supplying bone marrow of the whole mandible as well as its cortical layer. Additional arterial blood supplying comes from a various number (2-7) of branches supplying the temporomandibular joint capsule. They originate directly from the maxillary artery or from its primary branches: masseteric artery, external pterygoid artery or superficial temporal artery. Two rare variants of accessory mandibular head vascularization were encountered. The first (2 cases) was an arterial branch from the maxillary artery and the second (1 case) was a branch from the external pterygoid artery. In these cases the arterial supply of lateral part of temporomandibular joint capsule from other sources was reduced.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Fractures resulting in the lateral part of the condylar head in isolation could be potentially threatened by necrosis because of poor vascularization.
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Otolaryngology and Rehabilitation, II Medical Faculty, Medical University of Warsaw, Kajetany, Mokra 17 Str., 05-830 Nadarzyn, Poland. j.wysocki@ifps.org.pl
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wysocki
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reymond
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Krasucki
mesh_terms: D002102:Cadaver; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017746:Joint Capsule / Q000098:blood supply / Q000293:injuries; D008297:Male; D008335:Mandibular Condyle / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000293:injuries* / Q000473:pathology; D008336:Mandibular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D008337:Mandibular Fractures / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D008438:Maxillary Artery; D010020:Osteonecrosis / Q000209:etiology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint / Q000098:blood supply / Q000293:injuries