The finding of osteoarthritis of temporomandibular joint (TMJ ) obtained by clinical diagnosis, i.e. manual functional analysis (MF A) and the finding obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the gold standard were compared in 30 patients (mean age 52.6) diagnosed with osteoarthritis, selected out of 140 consecutive patients diagnosed with a TMJ disorder by MRI. The clinical parameters were symptoms of pain in the TMJ region, crepitations, and absence of clicking, which was confirmed by manual examinations as part of MF A. A positive MRI finding included flattening, subchondral degenerative changes with or without intact cortical bone, osteophytes and subchondral degenerative cysts of joint surfaces. The validity of MF A for osteoart...