Tensile Properties of the Mandibular Condylar Cartilage
- 1 February 2008
- journal article
- Published by ASME International in Journal of Biomechanical Engineering
- Vol. 130 (1), 011009
- https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2838062
Abstract
Mandibular condylar cartilage plays a crucial role in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) function, which includes facilitating articulation with the temporomandibular joint disc and reducing loads on the underlying bone. The cartilage experiences considerable tensile forces due to direct compression and shear. However, only scarce information is available about its tensile properties. The present study aims to quantify the biomechanical characteristics of the mandibular condylar cartilage to aid future three-dimensional finite element modeling and tissue engineering studies. Porcine condylar cartilage was tested under uniaxial tension in two directions, anteroposterior and mediolateral, with three regions per direction. Stress relaxation behavior was modeled using the Kelvin model and a second-order generalized Kelvin model, and collagen fiber orientation was determined by polarized light microscopy. The stress relaxation behavior of the tissue was biexponential in nature. The tissue exhibited greater stiffness in the anteroposterior direction than in the mediolateral direction as reflected by higher Young’s (2.4 times), instantaneous (1.9 times), and relaxed (1.9 times) moduli. No significant differences were observed among the regional properties in either direction. The predominantly anteroposterior macroscopic fiber orientation in the fibrous zone of condylar cartilage correlated well with the biomechanical findings. The condylar cartilage appears to be less stiff and less anisotropic under tension than the anatomically and functionally related TMJ disc. The anisotropy of the condylar cartilage, as evidenced by tensile behavior and collagen fiber orientation, suggests that the shear environment of the TMJ exposes the condylar cartilage to predominantly but not exclusively anteroposterior loading.Keywords
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Organization and Function of the Collagen Fiber System in the Human Temporomandibular Joint Disk and Its AttachmentsCells Tissues Organs, 2006
- Stress Relaxation of Porcine Gluteus Muscle Subjected to Sudden Transverse Deformation as Related to Pressure Sore ModelingJournal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2006
- Dynamic Response of Immature Bovine Articular Cartilage in Tension and Compression, and Nonlinear Viscoelastic Modeling of the Tensile ResponseJournal of Biomechanical Engineering, 2006
- A Surface–Regional and Freeze–Thaw Characterization of the Porcine Temporomandibular Joint DiscAnnals of Biomedical Engineering, 2005
- Regional Structural and Viscoelastic Properties of Fibrocartilage upon Dynamic Nanoindentation of the Articular CondyleJournal of Structural Biology, 2001
- The material properties of the bovine acetabular labrumJournal of Orthopaedic Research, 2001
- The Elastic Modulus of the Temporomandibular Joint Disc from Adult DogsJournal of Dental Research, 1991
- The fine structure of the fibrous zone of articular cartilage in the rat mandibular condyle.Japanese Journal of Oral Biology, 1990
- The Significance of Electromechanical and Osmotic Forces in the Nonequilibrium Swelling Behavior of Articular Cartilage in TensionJournal of Biomechanical Engineering, 1981
- Large deformation nonhomogeneous and directional properties of articular cartilage in uniaxial tensionJournal of Biomechanics, 1979