抄録
Histological examination was performed on 11 cervical discs obtained from 8 patients with rheumatoid arthritis during anterior interbody fusion and 3 cervical discs obtained at autopsy of 2 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Histological findings were compared with roentgenological and operative findings in reference to the initiation and progression of the rheumatoid discitis.
At the intervertebral spaces which showed minor roentgenological abnormalities like slightly decreased disc height, marginal erosion of the vertebrae or spur formation, inflammatory granulation always existed in the space between the annulus and the longitudinal ligaments but never in the center of the disc. At the intervertebral spaces with adjacent vertebrae already destructed, granulation was found all over the disc.
This study suggested that rheumatoid cervical discitis begins at the uncovertebral cleft (Luschka joint) and/or the enthesoperidiscal space, and spreads forward or backward along the periphery of the disc, and finally invades the vertebral body through the marginal endplate.
