A developmental study of the synovial membrane of the rat temporomandibular joint: changes in the three-dimensional configuration during postnatal development.

The development of synovial membranes in the posterior synovial portion of the rat temporomandibular joint was studied and the three-dimensional structure of the posterior synovial portion reconstructed from sagittal semithin sections. Reconstructions showed that the synovial membrane expanded and that synovial folds increased in number and became complicated in shape with the growth of the joint. Using transmission-electron microscopy, it was observed that the synovial lining cells degenerated, that the synovial membrane split to make further synovial folds, and that the folded-end structures consisted of synovial lining cells that extended into the subsynovial connective tissue. It is suggested that in the development of the three-dimensional configuration of the synovial membrane, several processes proceed simultaneously to form the synovial folds: a splitting of the synovial membrane, infolding of the synovial membrane into the subsynovial connective tissue, and outgrowth of the synovial folds towards the synovial cavity.