Modic Changes and Disc Degeneration Caused by Inoculation of Propionibacterium acnes inside Intervertebral Discs of Rabbits: A Pilot Study

Figure 1

The wild-type strain of P. acnes was isolated from the patient associated with severe disc degeneration and Modic change at the segment of L4~L5. (a)~(b) MRI examination of the patient showed signal intensity changes on the segment of L4~L5 at the cartilage endplate on T1WI and T2WI (a, b), suggesting a Modic change (b). Both were indicated by a white arrow. Meanwhile, severe disc degeneration and disc herniation were found at the same segment. (c) Gram’s staining depicted a Gram-positive rod-shaped bacterium after three-day culture in anaerobic blood plate.

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