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Updated: May 11, 2026

Optical Sectioning and Visualization of the Intervertebral Disc from Embryonic Development to Degeneration
Published on: July 8, 2021
Analysis of quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and biomechanical parameters on human discs with different grades
John Antoniou1, Laura M Epure, Arthur J Michalek
1Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research, SMBD-Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Purpose:
To establish relationships between quantitative MRI (qMRI) and biomechanical parameters in order to help inform and interpret alterations of human intervertebral discs (IVD) with different grades of degeneration.
Materials And Methods:
The properties of the nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) of each IVD of 10 lumbar spines (range, 32-77 years) were analyzed by qMRI (relaxation times T1 and T2, magnetization transfer ratio [MTR], and apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC]), and tested in confined compression and dynamic shear.
Results:
T1 and T2 significantly decreased in both the NP and AF with increasing degeneration grades while the MTR increased significantly with grade 4. In contrast to the other qMRI parameters, the ADC had a tendency to decrease with increasing grade. Disc degeneration caused a decrease in the aggregate modulus, hydraulic permeability and shear modulus magnitude along with an increase in phase angle in the AF. In contrast, disc degeneration of NPs demonstrated decreases in shear modulus and phase angle.
Conclusion:
Our studies indicate that qMRI can be used as a noninvasive diagnostic tool in the detection of IVD properties with the potential to help interpret and detect early, middle, and late stages of degeneration. QMRI of human IVD can therefore become a very important diagnostic assessment tool in determining the functional state of the disc.
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Degenerative Disc Disease I: Introduction
Degenerative Disc Disease ll: Pathophysiology
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