Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 23, 2026

Lateral Molar Approach-Driven Transoral Endoscopic Procedure for Benign Infratemporal Fossa Tumor Resection
Published on: August 15, 2025
A hematogenous spread brain abscess invading the right damaged temporomandibular joint
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany. klatt.jc@web.de
Abstract:
We report a rare case of a brain abscess which drained spontaneously in a temporomandibular joint damaged by osteoarthritis. The female patient presented to our hospital with a severe headache and pain in the temporomandibular joint. She showed elevated inflammatory parameters with unknown cause. Magnetic resonance imaging of her whole body revealed a large temporal brain abscess extending into the glenoid fossa of the temporomandibular joint. The brain abscess was incised and drained by neurosurgeons in our hospital and in the same operation we resected the articular disc and the affected part of the right temporomandibular joint. Histological examination confirmed a chronic arthrosis in the resected bone of the temporomandibular joint and an inflammatory abscess in the resected brain tissue. The patient recovered well and the inflammation resolved as seen in postoperative investigations. Magnetic resonance imaging a month later confirmed local consolidation in the brain with no sign of residual inflammation.
Related Concept Videos
Brain Abscess l: Introduction
Bacterial Meningitis II: Pathophysiology
Bacterial Meningitis I: Introduction
Hemorrhagic Stroke ll: Pathophysiology
Viral Meningitis
Hemorrhagic Stroke l: Introduction
