S. Nakamura et al., ORIGIN OF NERVES SUPPLYING THE POSTERIOR PORTION OF LUMBAR INTERVERTEBRAL DISCS IN RATS, Spine (Philadelphia, Pa. 1976), 21(8), 1996, pp. 917-924
Study Design. The authors studied the origin of nerves supplying the p
osterior portion of lumbar intervertebral discs in rats by resection o
f the sympathetic trunks. Objective. To understand discogenic low back
pain from the innervation of the lumbar intervertebral discs. Summary
of Background Data. The afferent pathways of discogenic low back pain
have not been studied thoroughly. It has been reported that stimulati
on of an inflamed lower spinal nerve root elicits leg pain but not low
back pain and that stimulation of the posterior portion of lumbar int
ervertebral discs evokes only low back pain. These facts suggest that
pain sensation from the posterior portion of lumbar discs is not trans
mitted via the lower spinal nerve roots. Methods. Forty-five Wistar ra
ts were used. Seven days after the resection of sympathetic trunks wit
h ganglia at different levels, the whole lumbar spine was stained by a
n acetylcholinesterase histochemical method. The posterior portions of
lumbar intervertebral discs were observed. Results. The dense nerve n
etwork on the posterior portion of lumbar intervertebral discs had dis
appeared almost completely after total resection of bilateral sympathe
tic trunks at L2-L6. However, there was a slight decrease in the netwo
rk after bilateral single-level-resection or unilateral multisegmental
resection. Conclusions. The results showed that the posterior portion
of lumbar intervertebral discs was innervated by the sympathetic nerv
es multisegmentally and bilaterally.