Figure 1.

A schematic view of a spinal segment and the intervertebral disc. The figure shows the organization of the disc with the nucleus pulposus (NP) surrounded by the lamellae of the annulus fibrosus (AF) and separated from the vertebral bodies (VB) by the cartilaginous end-plate (CEP). The figure also shows the relationship between the intervertebral disc and the spinal cord (SC), the nerve root (NR), and the apophyseal joints (AJ).