BACKGROUND The progression of disc degeneration is generally believed to be associated with low back pain and/or degenerative lumbar diseases, especially in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate changes in lumbar disc height using radiographic measurements and to investigate risk factors for development of disc height narrowing of the elderly. METHODS From 1997...

OBJECTIVE Disc edge veins of Kraupa are a rare anomaly of the retinal venous system in which the main trunk of the retinal vein disappeared into the margin of the optic disc instead of its centre. METHODS A 40-year-old woman was detected to have an anomaly in her left optic disc in a routine eye examination. The eyes had an anomaly of the retinal venous system in which all branches of the ret...

The aim of our study was to find symptomatic diagnostic factors for sideways displacement of the temporomandibular joint disc, compared with anterior or rotational disc displacement. A consecutive series of 2310 temporomandibular joints were examined with MRI to define the clinical signs and symptoms particularly related to sideways disc displacement compared to anterior disc displacement with ...

Giardia has unique microtubule structures, including the ventral disc, the primary organelle of attachment to the host, and the median body, a structure of undefined function. During attachment, the ventral disc has a domed conformation and enables Giardia to attach to the host intestinal epithelia within seconds. The mechanism of attachment via the ventral disc and the overall structure, funct...

BACKGROUND Little information is available on metastatic tumors to the optic disc. OBJECTIVE To determine the clinical features and prognosis of patients with optic disc metastasis. DESIGN Retrospective chart review. RESULTS Of 660 consecutively evaluated patients with intraocular metastasis, 30 (4.5%) (31 eyes) had metastatic cancer to the optic disc; 24 (80%) were women and 6 (20%) were...

It has been observed that puncture of a lumbar disc may induce formation of a nodule on the surface of the disc and osteophytes. It is not known if this is based on the presence of a foreign tissue or specifically by the presence of nucleus pulposus or on the disc injury. In this study these mechanisms were separated by comparing disc puncture with application of nucleus pulposus without disc i...

AIMS/BACKGROUND It has been reported that the number of optic nerve fibres decrease with age, and the cup/disc (C/D) ratio increases as the optic disc size increases. Consequently, the normal value of the optic disc variables measured by an optic disc analyser may change according to the optic disc size or age. The effect of individual variations in optic disc size or age on interpretation of o...

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a disease of the discs connecting adjoining vertebrae in which structural damage leads to loss of disc integrity. Degeneration of the disc can be a normal process of ageing, but can also be precipitated by other factors. Literature has made substantial progress in understanding the biological basis of intervertebral disc, which is reviewed here. Current medic...

Lateral disc herniation (foraminal and extra foraminal) has clinical characteristics that are different from those of medial disc herniation (central and subarticular), including older age, more frequent radicular pain, and neurologic deficits. This is supposedly because lateral disc herniation mechanically irritates or compresses the exiting nerve root or dorsal root ganglion inside of a narro...