3D structural study of vessels in rabbit′s intervertebral endplate

English Keywords:Intervertebral endplate  Vessels  Angiography  Barium sulfate  Micro-CT  Rabbit

English Abstract:

  【Abstract】 Objectives: To observe the 3D structure of the vessels in rabbit′s endplate by injecting barium sulfate contrast agent and reconstructing the 3D structure. Methods: Five 6-month-old rabbits(2.5-3kg) were used in this study. The rabbit′s endplate(L4, L5) was scanned by micro-CT which was injected with barium sulfate contrast agent in the abdominal aorta, and then the scanned data were imported into the Mimics Software for 3D reconstruction of the vascular structure in the rabbit′s intervertebral endplate. Each sample needs to be scanned twice according to the size of the scan range(FOV: 10mm and 5mm). Then 5 blood vessels were randomly selected and the diameters were measured in each group. The data were divided into two subgroups(10mm and 5mm). Results: The 3D structure of the rabbit′s intervertebral endplate vessels was observed by Mimics software. In the top view of the 10mm group, the vessels were observed as dense distribution in the central portion(nucleus pulposar) with larger diameter and diverged to the lateral portion(inner anular). In the sagittal plane, the vertebral body and intervertebral disc were clearly separated, and the vessels emitted from the rear of the vertebral body and ingrowth along the endplate divergent. In the 5mm group, the vessels in the central portion(nucleus pulposar) exhibited swollen and complex coil-like loops, which were different with the vessels in the lateral portion(inner anular) formed simple loops. The diameter of vessels in the 5mm group was significantly smaller than that in the 10mm group(P<0.001). Conclusions: Our study suggests that the blood vessels in rabbit endplate can be clearly observed by the method described, which can provide a new technique for the further study of the intervertebral endplate vessels.