Pathology

Thoracolumbar Spine Anatomy and Pathology - 68 Year Old Man

Degenerated Lower Lumbar Spine 68 year old male

Wolfgang Rauschning, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Professor, Clinical and Applied Anatomy and Pathology
Uppsala University Hospital
Uppsala, Sweden
Sagittal section through a degenerated lower lumbar spine of a 68-year old man
Sagittal section through a degenerated lower lumbar spine of a 68–year–old man who had had no history of back pain or radiculopathy. At L5–S1 there is a complete resorption of the intervertebral disc and a stable fusion of the cartilaginous endplates. An almost 2 cm wide band of subchondral endplate sclerosis borders this spontaneous fusion of the segment. In the posterior portion of the disc, hard dark outer annular layers are extruded into the midzone (or pedicle portion) of the root canal in which the relatively small dorsal root ganglion snugly follows the inferior border of the pedicle. The radicular artery is located anterior to the ganglion and is very small. The segmental veins which, although they are small, are not entirely collapsed. The total resorption of the disc also entails a severe shortening of the distance between the posterior elements as also is evident from the axial shortening and subluxation of the facet joint. Its vertical, apparently less loaded facet carries macroscopically normal hyaline cartilage whereas the superior tip of the upper articular process erodes into the inferior aspect of the pars interarticularis of L5. There is osteoarthrosis with osteophyte formation of the tip of the superior articular process, note also the subluxation of the L4–L5 facet joint and the obliteration of the lower portion of the neuroforamen by disc anteriorly and the ligamentum–flavum joint capsule posteriorly.

©2000 Wolfgang Rauschning, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Clinical Anatomy
Academic University Hospital
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery
Uppsala, Sweden
Reproduction without permission is prohibited
http://www.akademiska.se/
Last Updated: 07/29/2004
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