Summary
Posterior and anterior heights, cross-sectional area and shape were measured for all the intervertebral discs in four spines from elderly human cadavers. Disc height was a minimum at the T4–5 level; thoracic discs were less wedge-shaped than those in the cervical and lumbar regions. Cross-sectional area increased from the cranial to caudal extremity; at the L5-S1 level the nucleus pulposus occupied a high proportion of this area. Cervical discs tended to have an elliptical cross-sectional shape, thoracic discs were more circular and lumbar discs tended to have an elliptical cross-section which was flattened or re-entrant posteriorly. This shape distribution was quantified by defining a shape index which had a maximum value of 1 for a circular cross-section. Orientations of the reinforcing fibres in the outer lamellae of the anterior annulus fibrosus were measured from 27 discs by X-ray diffraction. For these measurements, C3–4, T7–8 and L2–3 were chosen as representative of cervical, thoracic and lumbar discs. The fibre tilt, with respect to the axis of the spine, was significantly less in the cervical discs (at 65°) than in the thoracic and lumbar discs (about 70°). These findings are interpreted in relation to differing functional requirements and possible mechanisms of failure in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine in the light of current knowledge on the biomechanics of the intervertebral disc.
Résumé
Les hauteurs postérieure et antérieure, la superficie et la forme en section transversale ont été mesurées pour tous les disques intervertébraux de quatre colonnes vertébrales prélevées chez des sujets âgés. La hauteur du disque était minimale au niveau T4–5; les disques thoraciques étaient moins cunéiformes que ceux des régions cervicale et lombaire. La superficie en section transversale augmentait de l'extrémité crâniale jusqu'à l'extrémité caudale; au niveau L5-S1 le noyau gélatineux occupait une grande proportion de cette surface. Les disques cervicaux avaient tendance à posséder une forme elliptique en section transversale, les disques thoraciques étaient plus circulatires et les disques lombaires avaient tendance à posséder une section transversale elliptique qui était plane ou concave en arrière. Cette distribution de formes a été quantifiée en définissant un indice de forme qui avait une valeur maximum de 1 pour une section transversale circulaire. Les orientations des fibres de renfort dans les lamelles extérieures de l'anneau fibreux antérieur de 27 disques ont été mesurées au moyen de la diffraction des rayons X. Pour ces mesures, nous avons choisi C3–4, T7–8 et L2–3 comme représentatifs des disques cervicaux, thoraciques et lombaires. L'inclinaison des fibres par rapport à l'axe de la colonne vertébrale, était significativement moindre dans les disques cervicaux (vers 65°) que dans les disques thoraciques et lombaires (vers 70°). Ces résultats sont interprétés selon les exigences fonctionnelles différentes et les mécanismes possibles de rupture dans les régions cervicale, thoracique et lombaire de la colonne vertébrale, en tenant complte des connaissances contemporaines de la biomécanique du disque intervertébral.
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Pooni, J., Hukins, D., Harris, P. et al. Comparison of the structure of human intervertebral discs in the cervical, thoracic and lumbar regions of the spine. Surg Radiol Anat 8, 175–182 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427846
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02427846