Nutritional Pathways of the Intervertebral Disc

Abstract

The pathways of material transfer to the intervertebral disc were studied in adult dogs by measuring diffusion of hydrogen molecules in the nucleus pulposus before and after disruption of the route through the annulus fibrosus and before and after disruption of the end-plate route. The disruption of the end-plate route, even if the separation of the bone-disc interfaces was only in the central two-thirds of one side, caused significantly greater decrease in the rate of hydrogen washout than the disruption of the annulus route. Hitologically, the bone-cartilage interface was frequently perforated by marrow cavity and vascular buds. These findings suggest that the end-plate route is a major pathway for material transfer to the intervertebral disc.