Figure 3.

Representative sagittal magnetic resonance T2-weighted images (left panels) and T2 maps (right panels) of rabbit lumbar spines. The lower four images are magnifications (4×) of those discs in the upper two T2 maps: (a) non-punctured control (L3/4), (b) phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (control) group, (c) platelet-poor plasma (PPP)-releasate group, and (d) platelet-rich plasma (PRP)-releasate group. The T2 values in the nucleus pulposus (NP) are significantly lower in all punctured discs (b-d) compared with non-punctured discs (a). However, areas with high T2 values area are identified in the center of the NPs injected with (c) PPP- and (d) PRP-releasates.