title: Histological evaluation of the sheep's cervical spine segment 3/4--a histomorphological and histomorphometrical study.
abstract: The 2-year-old sheep is a frequently used model in spinal orthopaedic research; however, so far no investigations have been performed on physiological tissue of untreated animals. In this study, the cervical spine segment 3/4 of eight 2-year-old female Merino sheep was evaluated histologically and histomorphometrically. Specimens were stained with Masson-Goldner-Trichrome, Safranin-Orange/Lightgreen, Safranin-Orange/von Kossa and Astrablue. Analysis of bone mass, mass of cartilage and mineralized cartilage in a defined region of interest was performed. A new finding of the study was that--although 2-year-old sheep is regarded as adult--tissue of the growth plate was still detected. Moreover, this study revealed that in the nucleus pulposus of the 2-year-old sheep notochordal cells are still existent, suggesting a complex remodelling of the nucleus pulposus in sheep.
authors.affiliation: Research Laboratory, Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery, Charité-University Medicine, Campus-Virchow Klinikum, Augustenburger Platz 1, D-13353 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kandziora
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huenigen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Plendl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015519:Bone Density; D002356:Cartilage / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D023421:Models, Animal; D012756:Sheep / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013131:Spine / Q000033:anatomy & histology*