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The dachshund, also known as the wiener dog or sausage dog, badger dog and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varied coloration.
An intervertebral disc, also spelled intervertebral disk, lies between adjacent vertebrae in the vertebral column. Each disc forms a fibrocartilaginous joint, to allow slight movement of the vertebrae, to act as a ligament to hold the vertebrae together, and to function as a shock absorber for the spine.
In anatomy, cervical is an adjective that has two meanings:
- of or pertaining to any neck.
- of or pertaining to the female cervix: i.e., the neck of the uterus.
Schmorl's nodes are protrusions of the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc through the vertebral body endplate and into the adjacent vertebra.
Spondylosis is the degeneration of the vertebral column from any cause. In the more narrow sense it refers to spinal osteoarthritis, the age-related degeneration of the spinal column, which is the most common cause of spondylosis. The degenerative process in osteoarthritis chiefly affects the vertebral bodies, the neural foramina and the facet joints. If severe, it may cause pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots with subsequent sensory or motor disturbances, such as pain, paresthesia, imbalance, and muscle weakness in the limbs.
Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a medical condition typically brought on by the aging process in which there are anatomic changes and possibly a loss of function of one or more intervertebral discs of the spine. DDD can take place with or without symptoms, but is typically identified once symptoms arise. The root cause is thought to be loss of soluble proteins within the fluid contained in the disc with resultant reduction of the oncotic pressure, which in turn causes loss of fluid volume. Normal downward forces cause the affected disc to lose height, and the distance between vertebrae is reduced. The anulus fibrosus, the tough outer layers of a disc, also weakens. This loss of height causes laxity of the longitudinal ligaments, which may allow anterior, posterior, or lateral shifting of the vertebral bodies, causing facet joint malalignment and arthritis; scoliosis; cervical hyperlordosis; thoracic hyperkyphosis; lumbar hyperlordosis; narrowing of the space available for the spinal tract within the vertebra ; or narrowing of the space through which a spinal nerve exits with resultant inflammation and impingement of a spinal nerve, causing a radiculopathy.
A retrolisthesis is a posterior displacement of one vertebral body with respect to the subjacent vertebra to a degree less than a luxation (dislocation). Retrolistheses are most easily diagnosed on lateral x-ray views of the spine. Views where care has been taken to expose for a true lateral view without any rotation offer the best diagnostic quality.
Traction is a set of mechanisms for straightening broken bones or relieving pressure on the spine and skeletal system. There are two types of traction: skin traction and skeletal traction. They are used in orthopedic medicine.
The intervertebral foramen is an opening between two pedicles of adjacent vertebra in the articulated spine. Each intervertebral foramen gives passage to a spinal nerve and spinal blood vessels, and lodges a posterior (dorsal) root ganglion. Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar vertebrae all have intervertebral foramina.
A spinal disc herniation is an injury to the intervertebral disc between two spinal vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical disability. The most conclusive diagnostic tool for disc herniation is MRI, and treatments may range from painkillers to surgery. Protection from disc herniation is best provided by core strength and an awareness of body mechanics including good posture.
Cartilaginous joints are connected entirely by cartilage. Cartilaginous joints allow more movement between bones than a fibrous joint but less than the highly mobile synovial joint. Cartilaginous joints also forms the growth regions of immature long bones and the intervertebral discs of the spinal column.
Disk biacuplasty is a medical procedure that applies heat to the annulus of disks that separate the vertebra of the back with the goal of ablating the neurons that generate pain sensations. The procedure is designed to reduce chronic back pain caused by the intervertebral discs. The procedure is in the early stages of testing with some evidence of efficacy.
Lumbar provocative discography is an invasive diagnostic procedure for evaluation for intervertebral disc pathology. It is usually reserved for persons with persistent, severe low back pain (LBP) who have abnormal spaces between vertebrae on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), where other diagnostic tests have failed to reveal clear confirmation of a suspected disc as the source of pain, and surgical intervention is being considered.
The vertebral column, also known as the spinal column, spine or backbone, is the core part of the axial skeleton in vertebrate animals. The vertebral column is the defining and eponymous characteristic of the vertebrate endoskeleton, where the notochord found in all chordates has been replaced by a segmented series of mineralized irregular bones called vertebrae, separated by fibrocartilaginous intervertebral discs. The dorsal portion of the vertebral column houses the spinal canal, an elongated cavity formed by alignment of the vertebral neural arches that encloses and protects the spinal cord, with spinal nerves exiting via the intervertebral foramina to innervate each body segments.
Vertebral osteomyelitis is a type of osteomyelitis that affects the vertebrae. It is a rare bone infection concentrated in the vertebral column. Cases of vertebral osteomyelitis are so rare that they constitute only 2%-4% of all bone infections. The infection can be classified as acute or chronic depending on the severity of the onset of the case, where acute patients often experience better outcomes than those living with the chronic symptoms that are characteristic of the disease. Although vertebral osteomyelitis is found in patients across a wide range of ages, the infection is commonly reported in young children and older adults. Vertebral osteomyelitis often attacks two vertebrae and the corresponding intervertebral disk, causing narrowing of the disc space between the vertebrae. The prognosis for the disease is dependent on where the infection is concentrated in the spine, the time between initial onset and treatment, and what approach is used to treat the disease.
Astronauts have expressed an increased incidence of back pain during spaceflight and herniated intervertebral discs (IVD) have been diagnosed upon return of Skylab and Shuttle spaceflight participants.
Radiofrequency thermocoagulation is a thermal pain treatment procedure. For example, percutaneous intradiscal radiofrequency thermocoagulation (PIRFT) involves the placement of an electrode or catheter into the intervertebral disc and applying an alternating radiofrequency current.
Each vertebra is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spinal segment and the particular species.
Condoliase (Hernicore) is a biopharmaceutical for the treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Clinical trials have shown its benefit in alleviation of lumbar disc herniation associated low back pain and disability, although some concerns have been suggested with regard to promotion of disc degeneration.
The Schilling telegraph is a needle telegraph invented by Pavel Schilling in the nineteenth century. It consists of a bank of needle instruments which between them display a binary code representing a letter or numeral. Signals were sent from a piano-like keyboard, and an additional circuit was provided for calling attention at the receiving end by setting off an alarm.
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