Trabecular architecture of the mandibular condyle of the rat as revealed by vital staining.

The variability of the internal architecture of bone was studied in the mandibular condyle of young rats with the aid of vital staining capable of revealing bone trabeculae. The effect of season and age was observed in Spring- and Fall-born rats 28 and 56 days of age. There was no clear left-right asymmetry in the average direction of the condylar trabeculae, but their ranges of direction within the condyles exhibited such asymmetry. Both the average directions and the internal variability were different in the medial and the lateral sides of the condyles. There were also small but in most respects significant seasonal differences. These findings indicate that even the relatively small mandibular condyle of the rat is a very complex structure.