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Sagittal closeup view of the posterior
half of a moderately degenerated L5–S1 disc at the lateral recess
level in a 54–year–old man who had no history of low back pain or
radicular symptoms. The cancellous bone of the vertebral bodies, the
brick–red tissue occupying the trabecular spaces represents healthy
bone marrow. As in Section 1, the outermost lamellae of the annulus
fibrosus are dark due to their high collagen content, the outer
annulus bulges markedly into the lateral recess. The central portion
of the disc is transformed into a dark mass that extends towards the
lower endplate of L5. At this level the cartilaginous endplate has
vanished and the subchondral osseous trabeculae are transformed into
sclerotic bone. Horizontal clefts extend posteriorly along the upper
apophyseal ring of SI. Note the thick SI root immediately under the
bulging disc. |
©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/
