| Summary: | The discomallear ligament (DML) runs through a narrow space of bony petrotympanic fissure, which joins the articular disc of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and the malleus in the tympanic cavity. We defined its morphological features using the cone beam CT (CBCT), anatomical dissection and immunohistochemical observation (extracellular matrices; fibronectin, collagen I, and III, and tenascin) of Japanese cadavers. Petrotympanic fissure and DML in fourteen (8 males and 6 females) cadavers were observed. Wide tunnel‐like structure was found on CBCT images in the middle region of the petrotympanic fissure to the malleus in the tympanic cavity was consisting of mainly four types and immunohitochemical staining for extracellular matrices were found in the TMJ with DML with different distribution for reactions. We also find these structures between the entrance of the petrotympanic fissure and the exit at the tympanic cavity are important to define limited movement of the malleus.
|
|---|