Effect of increased upward displacement of the glenoid fossa on mandibular growth

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Abstract
The vertical growth of the mandibular condyle was studied by inducing an artificial increased upward displacement of the glenoid fossa in 29 young rabbits, with 29 untreated rabbits as controls. The reactions of the craniofacial structures were studied biometrically, histologically, roentgenographically and from photographs of the temporomandibular joints. The ramus of the mandible was significantly higher in experimental animals at 50 days, but not at 100 days, and the mandible also showed a tendency towards an increase in length. The condyles of the 15 and 25-day-old experimental rabbits were located further downwards and forwards in relation to the fossa than in the controls, and the whole mandible had shifted forwards and tilted upwards posteriorly in relation to other structures such as the skull base, pterygoid process and maxillary molars; an edge-to-edge or inverse incisor relationship was observed at 100 days of age. The results indicate that the adaptability of the condylar cartilage expresses itself mainly in a change in the direction of the growth, but do not support the hypothesis that the vertical growth of the condyle is the result of a downward pull of the mandible. The suggestion is rather that the growth of the cartilage pushes the mandible downwards.

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