Pathology

Cryosectional Imaging of Spinal Anatomy

Wolfgang Rauschning, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Professor, Clinical and Applied Anatomy and Pathology
Uppsala University Hospital
Uppsala, Sweden
Uppsala University Hospital
Uppsala, Sweden

The Uppsala Cryoplaning Technique for sectioning frozen and undecalcified spine specimens creates sequences of highly detailed anatomical images in perfect pin registration. Each section is a few micrometers thick, trimmed from the frozen and embedded tissue block.

Midsagittal section upper cervical spine 34-year old male.

The cryosectional images presented in the four sections below display the anatomy of spinal structures undistorted because the relationships of the spinal soft tissues to the vertebral column are "frozen" with preserved spatial relationships. These collections detail the normal anatomy of the spine, surgical approaches and a wide variety of pathological conditions such as degenerative changes, traumatic lesions, metastases, as well as surgical safeguards and complications, the functional anatomy and kinematics of the spinal joints and ligaments. Each picture is presented in natural colors and texture to provide exquisite clarity and detail.

Professor Rauschning is pleased to present this reference material for fellow researchers and educators.

Please Note: Images and ALL CONTENT are ©2000 Wolfgang Rauschning, MD, Ph.D. No portion of these pages may be reproduced without the prior consent of the Copyright Holder. For information on purchasing or licensing these slides for academic or other usage, please contact Professor Rauschning directly or fax at 011 46 85 92 56 12 8. LASERANATOMY Inc. distributes sets of carefully selected slides that are reproduced directly from the originals with special optics on high–resolution film.

Thoracolumbar Spine Anatomy and Pathology

  1. Sagittal section through a normal lower lumbar spine.
  2. Sagittal section through the pedicles of the same specimen as section 1.
  3. Axial section through a vertebra at the mid–pedicle level.
  4. Coronal section through the pedicles of L2,L3, and L4.
  5. A typical burst fracture of L1.
  6. Sagittal high power photograph of the L4–L5 facet joint and foramen.
  7. Severe degenerative spinal stenosis at the L4–L5 level.
  8. A few millimeters above the level of Section 7.
  9. Sagittal section through a degenerated lower lumbar spine.
  10. Isthmic spondylolisthesis at L4–L5 in a 44–year old male.
  11. Pathological fracture of a midlumbar vertebra that had been weakened by a hypernephroma metastasis.
  12. Partial collapse of the L1 vertebra due to a superior endplate failure in the same spine specimen as section 11.
  13. Sagittal section in the midline through the thoracolumbar spine of a young female adult.
  14. Coronal section through a normal thoracolumbar junction between T12 and L2.
  15. Axial section through a severely degenerated L3–L4 disc of a 70–year old man.
  16. Closeup view of the midlumbar spinal canal in a severely degenerated and stenotic specimen.
  17. The same specimen as in section 16, this section is through the L4–L5 neuroforamen.
  18. Sagittal section through the neuroforamina of a severely degenerated lower lumbar spine.
  19. Sagittal section through a degenerated lower lumbar spine of a 68–year old man.
  20. Sagittal section through a moderately degenerated lower lumbar spine of a 77–year old man..


Cervical Spine Anatomy and Pathology

  1. Midsagittal section upper cervical spine 34–year old male.
  2. Superior Portion of Atlas.
  3. Axial section of the atlas through the lateral masses.
  4. Axial section through C5–C6 of a normal cervical spine.
  5. Sagittal section through the lateral portion of the articular pillar.
  6. Coronal section through severely degenerated lower cervical spine of a 70–year old female.
  7. Closeup view displaying advanced uncovertebral spondylosis.
  8. Midsagittal section through the mid–thoracic spine 64–year old female.
  9. Midsagittal section two severely degenerated C4–5 and C5–6.
  10. Midsagittal section midlumbar spine 64–year old female.
  11. Tetraplegic C5–C6 fracture dislocation 63–year old male.
  12. Lower spine of a young male with complete tetraplegia.
  13. Sagittal closeup fresh traumatic disc herniation in cervical spine
    of a 23–year old male.
  14. Midsagittal section through a normal lower cervical spine.
  15. Axial closeup view of the spinal canal.
  16. Sagittal closeup section through the severely degenerated lower cervical spinal segment.
  17. Sagittal section through the upper cervical spine of elderly male.
  18. Closeup of a sagittal section thorough the lateral masses of the atlas and the axis in a normal cervical spine.
  19. Sagittal Closeup Section through the level of the lateral recess of a severely degenerated lower cervical spine.
  20. Axial Section through a Mid–Thoracic Vertebra of a 14–year old boy.

 

Cervical Spine Injuries, Fractures and Whiplash

  1. Gross Disruption at the craniocervical junction.
  2. Odontoid process fracture.
  3. Occipital condyle fracture.
  4. Ligamentum flavum avulsion from the lamina of C7.
  5. Multiple facet joint ruptures and fractures of the transverse
    processes from C4 to C6
  6. Superior articular process fracture of C6.
  7. Multiple–level uncovertebral injuries between C2 and C5.
  8. Multiple disc ruptures at C5–C6.
  9. Catilaginous endplate avulsion of the C6–C7 disc from the body of C7.
  10. Large disc herniation at C5–C6.
  11. Subtotal Cartilaginous endplate avulsions of the disc C5.
  12. Our grading system for disc protrusions.
  13. Gadolinium enhanced, T1–weighted MR image.
  14. Marked uncovertebral osteophytosis.
  15. Posttraumatic instability and myelopathy.
  16. Posterior screw–plate fixation of a breast cancer metastasis.
  17. Breast cancer metastasis of C6.
  18. C6–C7 fracture–dislocation.
  19. Articular pillar anatomy in a 72–year old man.
  20. Sagittal close–up section at C6–C7 showing a screw that transgresses and partially fractures the inferior articular process at C6.

 

Lumbosacral and Spinopelvic Anatomy and Pathology

  1. Lower lumbar spine from a 45–year old woman through the lateral recess.
  2. Lower lumbar spine from a 45–year old woman through the medial border of the L5 pedicle
  3. Lower lumbar spine from a 45–year old woman at the mid–pedicle level of L5.
  4. Lower lumbar from a 45–year od woman at the level of the foraminal outlet.
  5. Sagittal close–up view of the posterior half of a moderately degenerated L5–S1 disc at the lateral recess level.
  6. Axial section through the spinal canal and foramina of the L5–S1.
  7. Lower lumbar spine of an old man with pronounced disc degenerations L4–L5 and L5–S1.
  8. Severely degenerated lower lumbar spine of a 70–year old man.
  9. Degenerated lumbar spine of a 70–year old man.
  10. Severely degenerated lower lumbar spine of a 70–year old man of long standing low back pain.
  11. Sagittal section through a degenerated L5–S1 foramen of a 68–year old man.
  12. Coronal section through the lower portion of L5 and the upper sacrum of a 77–year old man.
  13. Isthmic spondylolysis of L5 in a 29–year old woman who had died from aspiraton of a nose–bleeding.
  14. Isthmic spondylolysis of L5 in a 29–year old woman who had been completely asymptomatic
  15. Normal upper sacrum,sacroiliac joint and presacral soft tissues of a 29–year old woman.
  16. Axial section through the sacroiliac (SI) joints of a 29–year OD female.
  17. Axial closeup view of the right sacroiliac (SI) joint.
  18. Axial section through the right sacroiliac (SI) joint and lesser pelvis at the level of S3–S4
  19. Upper sacrum from an old man who had been bed–ridden.
  20. Axial section through the upper sacrum 1cm caudal of the level of slide 19.

Last Updated: 08/06/2007
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