Disc degeneration in the cervical spine

One hundred and twenty-eight cervical discs obtained from 30 autopsied subjects were examined morphologically. The cervical degenerative process was divided into five stages: (i) The initial stage—characterized by the disappearance and calcification of cells of the cartilagenous plate; (ii) the early stage—characterized by vessel invasion and formation of a calcification front; (iii) the progressive stage—characterized by progressive degenerative changes in all disc components; (iv) the late stage—characterized by destruction of the cartilagenous plates; and (v) the terminal stage—c characterized by eburnation of the bony end-plate. The cervical spine has three main differences from other regions of the spine: a large range of motion, the capacity for frequent and rapid movements, and the presence of Luschka's joint. Each of these three features is related to cervical disc degeneration. A preliminary report of this paper was presented at the 2nd Annual Orthopaedic Research Meeting of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (Kyoto, Japan, September, 1987) and at the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Spine Research Society (Toyama, Japan, June, 1993).