[Cartilaginous tumors of the jaw]

The rare cartilaginous tumors of the jaw bones are either benign or malignant. Their histogenesis is oft not clear, their histology and differential diagnosis always difficult. The clinical and radiological characteristics are very poor and of no aid for the diagnosis; the treatment must always be surgical. On the light of the recent literature, this work analyses these different characteristics of the cartilaginous tumors of the jaw bones. The benign tumors are the osteochondroma, the chondroblastoma, the chondromatosis synoviae and the myxoid fibroma. The malignant tumors are the various chondrosarcomas: among them, the mesenchymal chondrosarcoma is separately described.