Introduction: Bee venom is broadly utilized in conventional Chinese medication
for the treatment of fiery maladies, such as rheumatoid arthritis and to lighten the related
pain. Aim: This research aimed to investigate the anti-arthritic impact of bee venom
in repairing the possible structural and ultrastructural changes in the temporomandibular
joint of albino rats with induce rheumatoid arthritis. Material and Methods: Thirty
adult male albino rats were used in this investigation. The animals were divided into;
Group 1: (n=10) served as negative control; Group 2: (n=20) they received 7 intraarticular
injections of 0.02 ml of carrageenan solution in order to induce Rheumatoid
Arthritis. Then after, the animals of group 2 were divided equally into; Subgroup 2.1:
served as positive controls; Subgroup 2.2: were treated by subcutaneous injection of
0.2ml of bee venom solution for 12 weeks. At the end of the experiment the rats of different
groups were euthanized then the head of each animal was divided sagittally into
two halves; the right halves of all groups were used for structural examination while
the left halves were used for ultrastructural examination. Results: Biochemical results
revealed subgroup 2.2 showed a significant decrease in the values compared with subgroup < br />2.1. Histological and electron microscopic examination of the present sections of
subgroup 2.1 showed variable microscopically degenerative changes compared to control
group 1; while the present sections of subgroups 2.2 revealed marked improvement
of the different components of rat's temporomandibular joint. Conclusion: Bee venom
have antiarthritic effect in arthritic rat's temporomandibular joint.