NERVE ENDINGS IN TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT OF RHESUS MACAQUE

Methylene blue preparations and silver impregnated material were used to demonstrate the sensory nerve endings in the temporomandibular joint of the Rhesus monkey. Sixteen millimeter motion picture sequences of the various nerve endings were photographed while the microscope was slowly focused up and down through the entire thickness of the nerve ending. A 15‐minute film with descriptive sound track was prepared to demonstrate these nerve endings in three dimensions. The following types of nerve endings (listed in decreasing order of frequency) were seen in the articular capsule and peripheral portions of the articular disk: free, Ruffini, Golgi, and Paciniform endings. The sphenomandibular and stylomandibular ligaments in these monkeys gave no gross appearance of a ligamentous structure and did not contain any specialized proprioceptive nerve endings. Physiologic studies indicate that the nerve endings seen in the temporomandibular joint provide sensory mechanisms for the rception of pain, the autonomic control of vascular supply, and the recording of information concerning joint position and change in rate of movement. Copyright © 1968 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.