Mandibular skeletal dysmorphology in micrognathic mice.

The primary manifestations of micrognathia were microglossia, midline fusion of the right and left sides of the mandible, total absence of incisor and molar toothbuds and, in many cases, absence or perhaps premature resorption of Meckel's cartilage. In addition, there was altered osteogenesis as evidenced by disrupted trabecular patterns, as well as an overall dimensional reduction of the mandible both antero-posteriorly and laterally. Strikingly similar results were reported by Johnson (1926), who studied the progeny of x-irradiated mice. How specifically our results correlate with this much earlier work is a matter for further analysis. It seems clear that the critical factor in the development of micrognathia is not so much an abnormal formation of the bony mandible, but a deficiency of tongue development, specifically its intrinsic musculature. Thus, mandibular micrognathia involves not only a dysmorphology of the first branchial arch, but also the mesenchymal cell migration from the occipital somites. Taken together, the picture is one that suggests an underlying cause that may have its inception at a much earlier developmental stage, when ectomesenchymal migration from the region of the neural tube occurs. In any event, we can report confidently that spontaneous micrognathia in prenatal mice is not a simple dimensional reduction of the lower jaw, but a more complex morphological phenomenon.