title: Morphological characteristics of the temporomandibular joint in the pouch young of the Tasmanian devil.
abstract: We recently reported the absence of the articular disc, which is a constant structure in mammals, in the temporomandibular joint of the adult Tasmanian devil. However, whether the articular disc disappears with growth of the animal was unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether a pouch young of the Tasmanian devil has the articular disc. The temporomandibular joint of a fresh carcass of the pouch young, whose crown-rump length was 43 mm, was examined microscopically and by microcomputed tomography. The absence of the articular disc in the pouch young temporomandibular joint was histologically confirmed. It is suggested that the articular disc of the Tasmanian devil is naturally absent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugisaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kino
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amemiya
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000254:growth & development; D012867:Skin; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography