Effect of Static Load on the Nucleus Pulposus of Rabbit Intervertebral Disc Motion Segment in an Organ Culture

Figure 1

HE staining of IVD midsagittal slices at each time point under static load conditions (original magnification, 10). (a) Fresh tissue; (b, c, d) histological observations of tissues under static load on days 3, 7, and 14, respectively. In the fresh tissue, the tissue structure was intact (arrows) (a). Under static load, culturing to 7 days (c) led to a decrease in the number of NP cells and their dispersal (arrowheads). Culturing for 14 days (d) led to the loss of the tight concentric architecture of the AF and separation of the NP (arrowheads); this change was more obvious under the static load than fresh tissue. HE: hematoxylin-eosin; IVD: intervertebral disc; AF: annulus fibrous; NP: nucleus pulposus.

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