Gross and Microscopic Studies of Condyles Removed from Patients with Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome

Oral-facial pain has probably plagued man since the beginning of time. The relationship of odontalgia to facial pain has been recognized for many centuries, and indeed has often inspired in many patients the first real desire to seek dental treatment. In recent years a great deal of interest has developed in oral-facial pain as a symptom of temporomandibular joint dysfunction. For many years these patients and their complaints were shuttled from one specialist to another, treated by some, helped by few. Much has been written about temporomandibular joint syndrome, but most of this Iiterature has been based on clinical experience or on animal experiments. While this study is not an experiment per se, it is an attempt to evaluate histologically the condition of the articular surface of condyles from patients who have actually been brought to surgery