[Development of recurrences following lumbar intervertebral disk operations]

From a case material of 2845 operations on lumbar disc herniations the recurrences are displayed in tabular form and also numerically. On the basis of an operation "model" an attempt is made to assess the radicality of the clearing out of the intervertebral space. In addition the essential developmental history and the anatomical aspects are summarised and the present state of knowledge concerning the processes of aging and degeneration in the disc space commented on.