The primary skeletal structure used by dolphins to generate the dorsoventral bending characteristic of cetacean swimming is the vertebral column. In the vertebral column of the saddleback dolphin Delphinus delphis, we characterize the static and dynamic mechanical properties of the intervertebral joints, describe regional variation and dorsoventral asymmetries in mechanical performance, and inv...

PURPOSE To determine whether the lumbosacral junction of the vertebral column can be identified with sonography in newborns and infants and thus serve as a method for counting the lumbar and sacral vertebral bodies. METHODS In 32 newborns and infants, the number of ossified vertebral bodies distal to the lumbosacral junction was counted with sonography and radiography. RESULTS Sonographic a...

Pedicle subtraction osteotomy (PSO) is nowadays widely used to treat sagittal imbalance. Some complex malalignment cases cannot be treated by a PSO, whereas the imbalance is coronal or mixed or the sagittal imbalance is major and cannot be treated by a single PSO. The aim of this article was to review these complex situations—coronal imbalance, mixed imbalance, two-level PSO, vertebral column r...

The notochord has major roles in vertebral column formation: indirectly by inducing sclerotome cell differentiation; and directly by forming the nucleus pulposus of intervertebral discs. Sox5 and Sox6 encode Sry-related HMG box transcription factors that act redundantly to promote chondroblast differentiation in all cartilages of the mouse embryo. We show that Sox5 and Sox6 are expressed in the...

OBJECTIVES To describe and test a model to explain the biomechanical basis for persistent pain after compression fractures of the vertebral body. METHODS The biomechanics model was derived axiomatically from a consideration of the anatomy of vertebral column when affected by compression fractures. Proof of principle was provided by performing controlled diagnostic blocks in six patients. RE...

Vertebral involvement is no longer a contraindication for resection of superior sulcus tumors. We describe a patient who developed a kyphoscoliosis with spinal cord compression after resection of a superior sulcus tumor that invaded the vertebral column. Risk factors for spinal instability and indications for stabilization are discussed.