Objective: To evaluate the different effects of sodium hyaluronate and prednisolone on the surface of rabbits' temporomandibular joints.
Methods: 20 juvenile Japanese large ear rabbits were divided into 5 groups, including one control group and the other 4 experimental groups. In these groups, half of their right inferior cavity of temporomandibular joints were injected with sodium hyaluronate(25 mg/ml, 0.1 ml), while others were injected with prednisolone(1%, 0.1 ml), then the rabbits were killed on the 1st, 3rd, 7th, and 14th days after injection. The specimens were evaluated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) to compare the different effects on the inferior superfacial structure of the articular disc and the surface of the condyle.
Results: Prednisolone could change the uniform distribution of the agglutinating substance on the inferior superfacial of the articular disc and the surface of the condyle. In the 1st-day and the 3rd-day groups, the agglutinating substance decreased in some areas and gathered in other areas. In the 7 th-day group, the distribution of the agglutinating substance on the inferior superfacial of the articular disc and the surface of the condyle were more regular than that of the 1st-day and the 3rd-day groups. In the 14th-day group, the distribution of the agglutinating substance were almost as the same as that of the control group. But sodium hyaluronate didn't change the uniform distribution of the agglutinating substance in every group.
Conclusion: Prednisolone can change the uniform distribution of the agglutinating substance on the inferior superfacial of the articular disc and the surface of the condyle, while sodium hyaluronate don't have this effect.