Role of neurogenic inflammation in intervertebral disc degeneration

Figure 3 Painful intervertebral discs are always structurally ruptured. A: Lumbar T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed disc degeneration at L3/4 and L4/5 Levels (black disc), with a high-signal zone (arrow) behind each annulus fibrosus; B: Discography showed that both discs were painful discs (pain reproduction during injection of contrast agent), and the two-dimensional reconstruction of the CT scan after discography showed that the contrast agent leaked into the spinal canal from behind the L3/4 and4/5 intervertebral discs, indicating a tear in the posterior annulus fibrosus of these two intervertebral discs.