Advances in Comparative Medical Research on Anatomy and Histological Structure of Intervertebral Discs in Humans and Other Animals

doi:10.12300/j.issn.1674-5817.2023.141

Abstract

Abstract:

The 2023 China Health Report on Spine Degeneration noted a significant increase in lumbar surgery among patients under 35 years old in recent years, indicating a trend towards younger onset of cervical and lumbar diseases. Lumbar intervertebral disc herniation has become a major concern, making the study of disc degeneration pathogenesis and treatment methods clinically significant. At present, human intervertebral disc diseases are primarily diagnosed through imaging due to the challenges of obtaining tissue samples from the spine. Therefore, experimental animals have emerged as alternative research subjects because they are cost-effective, have short experimental cycles, and are easily accessible. Given the structural and physiological differences between human and other animal intervertebral discs, comparing their anatomy and histological characteristics forms the foundation of research into human disc degeneration. The purpose of this paper is to collect and review relevant studies on anatomical and histological structures of intervertebral discs in different animals and conduct a comparative analysis from four aspects, namely, intervertebral disc height, lumbar disc geometry, lumbar disc cartilaginous endplate characteristics, and extracellular matrix components. The results show that humans, kangaroos, sheep, pigs, and rats exhibit similar relative heights between the sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae. Mice possess lumbar disc geometries most akin to humans. Compared to other animals, humans have the thickest cartilaginous endplates and the lowest cell densities. The collagen within the fibrous annulus differs most notably in pigs compared to humans, while water content in the nucleus pulposus is consistent across pigs, sheep, rabbits, rats, and humans. Additionally, this paper describes the commonalities and discrepancies in disc degeneration manifestations between humans and animals, and summarizes modeling methods for disc degeneration in different experimental animals. Ultimately, the aims of this paper is to provide fundamental data for selecting suitable experimental animal models for the study of intervertebral disc degeneration.

Key words: Intervertebral disc, Degeneration, Comparative medicine, Animal model, Anatomy and histology

CLC Number:

Q95-33

Li ZHANG, Yu KUANG, Lingxia HAN. Advances in Comparative Medical Research on Anatomy and Histological Structure of Intervertebral Discs in Humans and Other Animals[J]. Laboratory Animal and Comparative Medicine, 2024, 44(2): 192-201.

Figures/Tables 4

References 74

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部位 Level	人^[12-14]（n=20～615） Human	袋鼠^[15]（n=8） Kangaroo	绵羊^[16]（n=7～14） Sheep	猪^[17-18]（n=10） Pig	大鼠^[19-20] （n=5～19） Rat
C2～C3	0.29	-	0.12	-	-
C3～C4	0.30	-	0.15	0.24	0.32
C4～C5	0.29	0.21	0.16	0.25	0.28
C5～C6	0.25	0.25	0.17	0.23	0.21
C6～C7	0.23	0.24	0.21	0.20	0.22
C7～T1	0.26	0.27	0.20	0.14	0.51
T1～T2	0.31	0.19	0.19	0.11	-
T2～T3	0.30	0.14	0.13	0.14	-
T3～T4	0.22	0.16	0.11	0.13	-
T4～T5	0.21	0.15	0.11	0.13	-
T5～T6	0.19	0.11	0.10	0.12	-
T6～T7	0.22	0.11	0.11	0.10	-
T7～T8	0.26	0.13	0.11	0.11	-
T8～T9	0.25	0.14	0.11	0.11	-
T9～T10	0.31	0.15	0.01	0.09	-
T10～T11	0.28	0.18	0.11	0.11	-
T11～T12	0.37	0.22	0.11	0.09	-
T12～T13	0.29	0.26	0.12	0.11	-
T13～T14/L1	/	0.28	0.13	0.10	-
T14～T15	/	/	/	0.12	/
T15～L1	/	/	/	0.12	/
L1～L2	0.41	0.27	0.13	0.11	0.17
L2～L3	0.43	0.25	0.12	0.12	0.17
L3～L4	0.49	0.23	0.12	0.11	0.17
L4～L5	0.60	0.24	0.11	0.11	0.19
L5～L6	0.61	0.26	0.11	0.12	0.16
L6～L7/S1	/	0.41	0.11	0.12	/
L7～S1	/	/	-	/	/

部位 Level	人^[12-14]（n=20～615） Human	袋鼠^[15]（n=8） Kangaroo	绵羊^[16]（n=7～14） Sheep	猪^[17-18]（n=10） Pig	大鼠^[19-20] （n=5～19） Rat
C2～C3	0.29	-	0.12	-	-
C3～C4	0.30	-	0.15	0.24	0.32
C4～C5	0.29	0.21	0.16	0.25	0.28
C5～C6	0.25	0.25	0.17	0.23	0.21
C6～C7	0.23	0.24	0.21	0.20	0.22
C7～T1	0.26	0.27	0.20	0.14	0.51
T1～T2	0.31	0.19	0.19	0.11	-
T2～T3	0.30	0.14	0.13	0.14	-
T3～T4	0.22	0.16	0.11	0.13	-
T4～T5	0.21	0.15	0.11	0.13	-
T5～T6	0.19	0.11	0.10	0.12	-
T6～T7	0.22	0.11	0.11	0.10	-
T7～T8	0.26	0.13	0.11	0.11	-
T8～T9	0.25	0.14	0.11	0.11	-
T9～T10	0.31	0.15	0.01	0.09	-
T10～T11	0.28	0.18	0.11	0.11	-
T11～T12	0.37	0.22	0.11	0.09	-
T12～T13	0.29	0.26	0.12	0.11	-
T13～T14/L1	/	0.28	0.13	0.10	-
T14～T15	/	/	/	0.12	/
T15～L1	/	/	/	0.12	/
L1～L2	0.41	0.27	0.13	0.11	0.17
L2～L3	0.43	0.25	0.12	0.12	0.17
L3～L4	0.49	0.23	0.12	0.11	0.17
L4～L5	0.60	0.24	0.11	0.11	0.19
L5～L6	0.61	0.26	0.11	0.12	0.16
L6～L7/S1	/	0.41	0.11	0.12	/
L7～S1	/	/	-	/	/

物种 Species	部位 Level	高度/横向宽度 Height/ lateral width	纵向宽度/横向宽度 Anteroposterior width/ lateral width	髓核面积/椎间盘面积 Nucleus pulposus area/ disc area	与人类参数的平均偏差/% Average deviation from human parameters/%
人类（n=3） Human	L4～L5 L4～L5 L4～L5	0.20	0.67	0.28	-
兔（n=3） Rabbit		0.11	0.52	0.25	26.00
大鼠（n=3） Rat		0.16	0.75	0.25	15.00
小鼠（n=3） Mouse	L3～L4	0.17	0.67	0.18	12.00
大鼠（n=3） Rat	CA10～CA11	0.29	1.07	0.37	46.00
小鼠（n=3） Mouse	CA9～CA10	0.20	1.08	0.30	18.00

物种 Species	部位 Level	高度/横向宽度 Height/ lateral width	纵向宽度/横向宽度 Anteroposterior width/ lateral width	髓核面积/椎间盘面积 Nucleus pulposus area/ disc area	与人类参数的平均偏差/% Average deviation from human parameters/%
人类（n=3） Human	L4～L5 L4～L5 L4～L5	0.20	0.67	0.28	-
兔（n=3） Rabbit		0.11	0.52	0.25	26.00
大鼠（n=3） Rat		0.16	0.75	0.25	15.00
小鼠（n=3） Mouse	L3～L4	0.17	0.67	0.18	12.00
大鼠（n=3） Rat	CA10～CA11	0.29	1.07	0.37	46.00
小鼠（n=3） Mouse	CA9～CA10	0.20	1.08	0.30	18.00

物种 Species	部位 Level	中心区 Central area				边缘区 Edge area
物种 Species	部位 Level	厚度/mm Thickness/ mm	细胞密度/mm² Cellular density/ mm²	胶原分布特征 Collagen distribution feature	胶原纤维直径/nm Collagen fiber diameter/ nm	厚度/mm Thickness/ mm	细胞密度/mm² Cellular density/ mm²	胶原分布特征 Collagen distribution feature	胶原纤维直径/nm Collagen fiber diameter/ nm
人类（n=5） Human	L1～L5	855.58±24.37^**	259.00±31.00^**	平行排列，间隙较小	57.18±17.11	938.31±108.44	203.00±36.00	平行排列，间隙较小	67.58±30.48
猪（n=8） Pig	L2～L6	304.80±17.47^**	605.00±132.00^**	相互缠绕，间隙较大	57.53±24.10^*	279.24±27.72	409.00±67.00	平行排列，间隙较大	63.46±19.05
兔（n=8） Rabbit	L3～L7	69.41±9.79	991.00±200.00	聚集成束并发生交联	60.83±18.64^**	73.81±11.27	868.00±192.00	聚集成束并发生交联	77.06±21.92
大鼠（n=8） Rat	L2～L5	288.96±49.00^**	603.00±93.00^**	网状交织	45.06±8.98^**	209.10±18.16	762.00±81.00	网状交织	107.25±42.74