Biomechanical response of the temporomandubular joint disc complex to mechanical loads.

Tanaka Eiji

van Eijden Theo M.G.J.

Kawai Nobuhiko

Hanaoka Koichi

Watanabe Mineo

Tanne Kazuo

International Conference on TMJ Replacement and Tissue Engineering in Hiroshima : 顎関節部の再建と組織再生に関する国際カンファレンス-広島

The temporomandibular joint(TMJ), one of the load-bearing organs in human body, is composed of bone componets and soft tissues. Of the soft tissues, the TMJ disc consists mainly of collagen fibers and proteoglycans constained in the interstices of the collagen network. This construction results in a viscoelastic response to loading and enables the disc to play an important role as a stress absorber during function. The viscoelastic properties depend on the direction(tension, compression, and shear) and the type of the applied loading (static and dynamic). For instance, upon dynamic loading the disc is likely to behave less stiff than under static loading because of the difference of fluid flow through and out of the tissue during loading. Furthermore, the retrodiscal tissue adjacent to the TMJ disc has an important joint-stablizing function during month opening although this tissue exhibits less stiffness than the TMJ disc and therefore has no or less function as a stress absorber. Information about the viscoelastic behavior of the soft tissues in the TMJ is required to understand its function, which is a requirement, for instance, to develop a suitable replacement and tissue engineering of the TMJ. In the present paper, the biomechanical properties of the TMJ disc and retrodiscal tissue in response to various loading conditions are discussed.

stress and strain

viscoelasticity

elastic modulus

TMJ disc

temporomandibular joint

Medical sciences [ 490 ]

eng

[URI] http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/00014841 isPartOf