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Updated: Sep 12, 2026
A Morphometric and Cellular Analysis Method for the Murine Mandibular Condyle
Published on: January 11, 2018
[A histological and ultrastructural study of the tidemark in human condylar cartilage]
Rui Chen1, Shuozhi Wang, Xinming Chen
1Department of Dentistry, Tongji Hospital of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China.
Objective:
To study the histology and ultrastructure of the tidemark in the adult condylar cartilage and their significance.
Methods:
After embedded in paraffin, 50 adult condyles were stained with HE, partly with Van-Gieson and histochemical methods, then observed by light microscope. 3 cases of the tidemark region were observed by transmission electron microscope, another 5 cases were studied by scanning electron microscope.
Results:
In the tidemark region, there had shown the presence of the AKP and calcium, absence of the proteoglycan, abundance of the membrane-bound matrix vesicles, crystals of hydroxyapatite and lipid nodule-like substances, which were often observed in the load-bearing areas. The collagen fibrils of the noncalcified cartilage crossed the tidemark gradiently and were continuous with those of the calcified cartilage; a band of horizontal fibrils surrounded the whole tidemark region, which was wider in the load-bearing areas than that in the nonload-bearing areas and which interweaved with the gradient fibrils so as to form a net. Digested with papain, the surface of the tidemark was highly undulating, and a lot of chondrocyte lacunae were seen on the surface, which were surrounded by calcified tissues.
Conclusions:
In the region of the tidemark, physiological calcification takes place and is more active in the load-bearing areas; gradient and horizontal fibrils interweave with each other, which is correlated with the force on the articulation.
