Imaging of the Spine

Spinal Vascular Anatomy

The normal vascular anatomy of the spine and spinal cord is described in this chapter as it follows the blood flow from large arteries to smaller arterial trunks and through the capillaries to venous drainage channels of progressively larger size.…

Degenerative Disorders of the Spine

Degeneration of the spine should be distinguished from normal aging of the spine. Normal aging retains the biomechanical and biochemical functions of the spine, whereas degeneration does not. The claim that disc degeneration begins in the first decade of life…

Age-Related Changes in the Spine

The spines of older individuals have both the changes of normal aging and the changes of “degeneration.” In the absence of accepted criteria to distinguish aging and degeneration, the features that characterize the majority of individuals at a specified age…