Postnatal development of the human temporomandibular joint. I. A histological study

Temporomandibular joints from 61 humans, aged 2 days to 27 years, were examined histologically. Four layers of the condyle were studied in detail. The outermost layer was richly vascularised in new-borns but by 3 years of age it had become avascular and contained few cells. In neonates the cartilage layer constituted a large part of the condyle but soon decreased in thickness and by 5-6 years of age it constituted only a thin zone of the top of the condyle. In the proliferative zone, mitoses occurred up to 13-15 years of age. This zone then decreased in thickness; the number of cells decreased, while the amount of intercellular substance increased. At birth, the temporal component was flat and was lined by vascularised connective tissue which became richer in collagen with increasing age. The cartilage layer was lacking in the fossa but was present on the tuberculum. A proliferative zone in this cartilage could be seen up to the age of 17-18 years and cartilage having only few cells was found in adults. Remodelling processes were seen in all components of the joints. The significance of the remodelling seen in the fossa and on the mandibular neck is discussed with relation to condylar and periosteal growth of the mandible.

[Quantitative study on the effects of parathyroidectomy on the osseous remodelling and physiological migration of teeth in the rat]

Numerous hypotheses have been advanced to explain the factors determining the rhythm and direction of the physiological drift of the teeth, but the exact causes of the phenomena are still poorly understood. Since dental mesial drift and alveolar bone remodeling are closely associated, the influence of the parathyroid hormone, systemic factor of bone remodeling, was studied. A cessation of physiological mesial drift was observed in 8 days on parathyroidectomized rats without the use of any direct local action or compression of the periodontal ligament, on the resorbing alveolar side. Parathyroid hormone injection in rats parathyroidectomized for 4 days allowed the development of physiological drift in the same direction. Alveolar bone is therefore parathyroid hormone dependent : the remodeling seemed to determine the physiological drift whereas a local factor seemed to determine the direction.

The origin and fate of osteoclasts

Despite intensive and ingenious investigation, the origins and ultimate fate of the osteoclast remain shrouded in mystery. This brief review evaluates some of the recent experimental approaches used in the study of the osteoclast, especially whether they form from intra- or extra-skeletal progenitor cells, whether from the same osteoprogenitor cell as the osteoblast, and whether, once formed, they may modulate to osteoblasts. That osteoprogenitor cells can, and do, become osteoclasts is well founded, as is the conclusion that such progenitor cells originate as blood-borne, extra-skeletal cells. Evidence that sessile, intra-skeletal, progenitor cells can form osteoclasts is less direct. There is good evidence that osteoclasts both shed and take-up nuclei, but no direct evidence that nuclear shedding is accompanied by death of the osteoclast, and no direct evidence for the fate of the shed nuclei. Whether the same osteoprogenitor cell can produce either an osteoblast or an osteoclast also remains an open question.

Increases in number and size of osteoclasts in response to calcium or phosphorus deficiency in the rat

In this study, the two determinants of the rate of osteoclastic bone resorption, cell number and cell activity, were evaluated to characterize the response to two chronic resorptive stimuli, a calcium-deficient diet and a phosphorus-deficient diet, fed to rats for 8 days. The number of osteoclast nuclei was determined directly and the resorptive activity of osteoclasts indirectly from cell size. In our sampling site in the tibial diaphysis, there were marked increases in osteoclast layer width (i.e., cell size) and in the number of osteoclasts and osteoclast nuclei in both test groups. Also, in both test groups the increase in the number of osteoclast nuclei was greater than the increase in osteoclast width, emphasizing the importance of osteoclast stem cell activity in the resorptive response. When the data on the control and test animals were pooled, there was a strong correlation between the width of the osteoclast layer and the number of osteoclast nuclei (r = 0.87, P less than 0.001). Thus, these two resoprtive stimuli produced proportional changes in osteoclast cell number and probably activity, raising the possibility that the resorptive response is sterotyped. These results also suggest the existence of a control mechanism which coupled the proliferative activity of osteoclast stem cells and the resorptive activity of osteoclasts. Despite the fact that the rats were subjected to chronic resorptive stimuli, forming surface and the total number of osteoblasts were also increased. Moreover, in data pooled from control and test rats, there was a strong correlation between the number of osteoclast nuclei and the number of osteoblasts (r = 0.92, P less than 0.001). This implies that chronic resorptive stimuli directly or indirectly stimulate osteogenic stem cells to increase production of osteoblasts as well as osteoclasts. The observed coupling of differentiated cell number probably contributes to the established phenomenon of coupling between the rates of bone accretion and resorption.

The healing of surgical defects in alveolar bone produced with ultrasonic instrumentation, chisel, and rotary bur

A histologic comparison of the effects of an ultrasonic instrument, a low-speed rotary cutting bur, and a surgical chisel, all used with water coolant, on the rate of healing of dog alveolar bone was made. After reflection of a mucoperiosteal flap, each instrument was used to produce a 3 by 3 by 2 mm. defect in buccal alveolar bone, 3 mm. apical to the alveolar crest and directly overlying the root structure of the right premolar teeth. Dogs were killed immediately following flap replacement with sutures and 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 90 days later. Histologic examination of the surgical areas revealed that the bur produced the smoothest surface. At day 3, specimens prepared with the chisel and the ultrasonic instrument exhibited areas of cellular organization along surfaces with the defect and the formation of osteoid in adjacent marrow spaces. At day 7, osteoblastic activity was most pronounced in specimens prepared with the chisel and least in those prepared with the bur. The subsequent rate of healing in later periods appeared histologically to be the best with the use of the chisel, followed closely by the use of the ultrasonic instrument, and the slowest with the bur, the order of which is consistent with the over-all microscopic evaluation of the effect of the three instruments.

Methymethacrylate cement: its curing temperature and effect on articular cartilage

The increasing use of methylmethacrylate in orthopedic surgery makes it desirable to determine whether the curing temperature of methylmethacrylate is high enough to cause bone necrosis and whether methylmethacrylate damages articular cartilage. Studies in dogs showed that methylmethacrylate plut temperatures ranged from 95 to 107degrees C and that temperatures at the cement-bone interface ranged from 50 to 95degrees. Curing temperatures therefore are high enough to cause necrosis of bone. Other studies revealed no harmful action of methylmethacrylate on articular cartilage. Fractures stabilized with methylmethacrylate can therefore be expected to heal provided the normal criteria of fracture management are fulfilled.

Experimental alteration of the coronal sutural area: a histological and quantitative microscopic assessment

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Effects of parathyroid hormone on bone of thyroparathyroidectomized rats: an ultrastructural and enzymatic study

Osteoblasts and osteocytes in adult thyroparathyroidectomized (T(x)PT(x)) rats fed a low calcium vitamin D-free diet and given parathyroid (PTH) had ultrastructural evidence of increased activity compared to controls. Osteoblasts in PTH-treated rats had prominent rough endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatuses and large mitochondria. The plasma membranes were extensively convoluted and associated with initial loci of mineralization in osteoid. Osteocytes contained increased rough endoplasmic reticulum, well-developed Golgi apparatuses and large mitochondria. Lacunar walls were roughened, but osteocytic osteolysis was not observed. Osteoclasts were encountered more frequently in PTH-treated rats, but their ultrastructural features were similar to those of controls. Osteoblasts and osteocytes in controls appeared to be inactive cells lining quiescent mineral surfaces. Parathyroid hormone treatment increased serum calcium levels and urinary hydroxyproline excretion, indicating enhanced resorption of bone mineral and matrix. Bone alkaline phosphatase and calcium-adenosine triphosphatase activities were elevated after PTH treatment and may be related to increased calcium transport by bone cells. These findings were interpreted to suggest that PTH mobilizes bone mineral by osteoclasis and increases metabolic activity of the osteocyte-osteoblast pump.

The effects of parathyroid hormone, colchicine, and calcitonin on the ultrastructure and the activity of osteoclasts in organ culture

The ultrastructure of osteoclasts was examined in fetal rat bones after stimulation or inhibition of resorption in culture. A central ruffled border area completely encircled by a clear zone was considered to represent the resorbing system of the cell. The proportion of ruffled border and clear zone in osteoclast cross sections was compared with changes in bone resorption as measured by the release of previously incorporated radioactive calcium ((45)Ca). In control cultures 55% of the osteoclast cross sections showed an area closely apposed to bone and this consisted mainly of clear zone; only 11% showed ruffled borders. Treatment with parathyroid hormone (PTH) increased (45)Ca release, increased the frequency of finding areas closely apposed to bone (79%), and markedly increased the frequency of the ruffled border area (64%). Colchicine given concurrently with PTH decreased the number of osteoclasts. Colchicine or calcitonin treatment after PTH stimulation decreased the proportion of ruffled border area significantly by 1 h; this was followed by a decrease in (45)Ca release. These inhibited osteoclasts resembled osteoclasts from control, unstimulated cultures, suggesting that the cells had returned to their inactive state. Colchicine-treated osteoclasts also showed a loss of microtubules and a massive accumulation of 100 A filaments, suggesting that synthesis of microtubular subunits had increased.