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Patients often have temporomandibular joint (TMJ)-related symptoms following cervical extension-flexion injuries (whiplash) caused by motor vehicle accidents. To determine abnormalities of the TMJ associated with these whiplash injuries. the authors evaluated 33 symptomatic patients with MR imaging performed in both TMJs. Thirteen patients had no direct trauma to thejaw, mouth, head, or face during the accident. None of the patients had a prior history of TMJ dysfunction. T1-weighted, closed-and openmouth views were obtained in the sagittal plane, and closed-mouth views were obtained in the coronal plane. T2-weighted closed-mouth views in the sagittal plane were also obtained to optimize identification of edema/fluid. Fifty percent of the TMJs had one of the following TMJ abnormalities: 19 (29%) had anterior disk displacement with reduction, 9 (14%) had anterior disk displacement without reduction, 4 (6%) had medial or lateral disk displacement, and 1 (1 %) had posterior disk displacement. On T2-weighted images, 36 (55%] TMJs had joint fluid localized to the capsule and/or pterygoid muscles. These data demonstrate that a high percentage of patients had abnormalities of the TMJ related to whiplash injury. The predominant finding was associated fluid/edema. indicating that T2-weighted images are especially useful for assessment of patients who present with whiplash injury. 366 2:57PM