Cervical Spondylosis Anatomy

Abstract

Cervical spondylosis is the most common progressive disorder in the aging cervical spine. It results from the process of degeneration of the intervertebral discs and facet joints of the cervical spine. Biomechanically, the disc and the facets are the connecting structures between the vertebrae for the transmission of external forces. They also facilitate cervical spine mobility. Symptoms related to myelopathy and radiculopathy are caused by the formation of osteophytes, which compromise the diameter of the spinal canal. This compromise may also be partially developmental. The developmental process, together with the degenerative process, may cause mechanical pressure on the spinal cord at one or multiple levels. This pressure may produce direct neurological damage or ischemic changes and, thus, lead to spinal cord disturbances. A thorough understanding of the biomechanics, the pathology, the clinical presentation, the radiological evaluation, as well as the surgical indications of cervical spondylosis, is essential for the management of patients with cervical spondylosis.

Regression of Disc-Osteophyte Complexes Following Laminoplasty Versus Laminectomy with Fusion for Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

“…12,13 It is thought that disc-osteophyte complexes form as a reaction to increased mechanical stress on Sharpey's fibers, which insert into the margins of vertebral bodies adjacent to degenerative intervertebral discs.…”

Axonal plasticity underpins the functional recovery following surgical decompression in a rat model of cervical spondylotic myelopathy

“…The cellular events leading from compression to myelopathic changes are less clear. Current evidence suggests that mechanical compromise results in ischemia and triggers axonal injury, inflammation, and apoptosis [2, 26, 42]. …”

Congenital and late onset vertebral fusions in long necked plesiosaurs: The first report of spondylosis deformans in Sauropterygians

“…The osteophytes vary from small spurs to bony bridges across the disc space and can protrude several millimeters from the disco-vertebral junction (Morgan et al, 1989;Langeland and Lingaas, 1995;Carnier et al, 2004;Levine et al, 2006). The position of the intervertebral disc height can also be affected by pro-gressive degeneration (Fardon and Milette, 2001;Gibson et al, 1999;Middleton and Fish, 2009;Binder, 2007;Shedid and Benzel, 2007;Muraki et al, 2009;Lee et al, 2011). Although sometimes referred to as osteophytes, some authors prefer the term enthesophytes for the bony projections in spondylosis deformans (Thomas and Fingeroth, 2014).…”