Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 26, 2026

Optical Sectioning and Visualization of the Intervertebral Disc from Embryonic Development to Degeneration
Published on: July 8, 2021
Developmental mechanisms of intervertebral disc and vertebral column formation
Lisa Y Lawson1, Brian D Harfe1
1Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Genetics Institute University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Abstract:
The vertebral column consists of repeating units of ossified vertebrae that are adjoined by fibrocartilagenous intervertebral discs. These structures form from the embryonic notochord and somitic mesoderm. In humans, congenital malformations of the vertebral column include scoliosis, kyphosis, spina bifida, and Klippel Feil syndrome. In adulthood, a common malady affecting the vertebral column includes disc degeneration and associated back pain. Indeed, recent reports estimate that low back pain is the number one cause of disability worldwide. Our review provides an overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying vertebral column morphogenesis and intervertebral disc development and maintenance, with an emphasis on what has been gleaned from recent genetic studies in mice. The aim of this review is to provide a developmental framework through which vertebral column formation can be understood so that ultimately, research scientists and clinicians alike can restore disc health with appropriately designed gene and cell-based therapies. WIREs Dev Biol 2017, 6:e283. doi: 10.1002/wdev.283 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
More Related Videos
12:59Three and Four-Dimensional Visualization and Analysis Approaches to Study Vertebrate Axial Elongation and Segmentation
Published on: February 28, 2021
05:46A Proinflammatory, Degenerative Organ Culture Model to Simulate Early-Stage Intervertebral Disc Disease.
Published on: February 14, 2021
Related Concept Videos
General Structure of a Vertebra
Vertebral Column: Regions and Curvature
Regions of the Vertebral Column
In an adult, the spine is subdivided into five regions: the cervical, the thoracic, the lumbar, the sacral, and the coccygeal region. The spine initially develops as a series of 33 vertebrae; after 20 years of age, the nine bones in the sacral region, five sacral, and four coccygeal bones fuse to form...
Structural Joints: Cartilaginous Joints
There are two types of cartilaginous joints:
Synchondrosis
A synchondrosis ("joined by cartilage") is a cartilaginous joint where bones are connected by hyaline cartilage. Synchondrosis may be temporary...
Articulations of the Vertebral Column
Bone Formation by Intramembranous Ossification
The process begins when mesenchymal cells in the embryonic skeleton gather together and differentiate into osteogenic cells, which then develop into ...
Bone Formation by Endochondral Ossification