A comparative study of axial corrected tomography with magnetic resonance imagery in 35 joints

Axially corrected tomographic examination of 35 temporomandibular joints was compared with respective MRI images. The criteria of joint space measurements, condylar positioning, and degenerative osseous changes were correlated with the MRI image of disk positioning. Joints with disk displacements that reduced with condylar translation and joints with disk dislocation without reduction of the articular disk were compared with normal examinations. The mean measured joint space on tomographic examination decreased with MRI evidence of disk displacement and dislocation. Fourteen of twenty-five joints with MRI documentation of disk displacement or dislocation did show a tendency for some condylar displacement from a centric position. Only the joints with MRI evidence of total disk dislocation showed bony evidence of degenerative changes with tomography. The clinical cross-sectional study suggests that there can be changes seen in axially corrected tomographic examinations that may suggest the presence of disk displacement or significant internal derangement.