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Mandibular torus morphology

1980; Wiley; Volume: 53; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/ajpa.1330530411

1096-8644

Berit J. Sellevold,

Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

Abstract The morphology of the mandibular torus was examined, and comparisons were made between a Medieval Norse skeletal population from Greenland and a 14th to 17th century Greenland Eskimo skeletal series. Three parameters were analyzed: degree of development (on a 4‐point scale), position and length, and surface morphology according to the number of knobs, or lobuli. It was found that the Eskimos have a high frequency of weakly developed tori and no cases of the extreme development, while over 20% of the Norsemen had tori in the “extreme” category. The Norse torus was generally found to be longer than that of the Eskimos, and both groups exhibited a slight asymmetry between the sides, the torus on the left side tending to be longer and more forward in position than the right. A great difference was found in surface morphology. The Norse torus is in general very irregular, while the Eskimo torus is rather smooth. These differences are believed to be genetically determined.