Spine with discs cut from image LSBU

Description: Radiology case 338-91 These views are the lumbar spine of a child and an adult with the discs cut out of the film. It is constructed to show that some of the lumbar lordosis depends on the distortion of the L4/L5 disc and, to a smaller degree, the L5/S1 and discs above. Experienced radiologists will remember that the lumbar spine in so-called flexion has a straight appearance.
The images are a reminder that disc protrusion of the nucleus pulposus results from fatigue fractures of the peripheral fibres in the disc. The Discs with the most distortion are the most likely to fail, namely L4/L5 and L5/S1.