Fig. 1.

Radiographic image of a mouse tail placed under a static uniform compression and b fixed-angle bending after compression loading. For compression (a), the center disc spanned by elastics is subjected to load while the adjacent sham disc (right) is not. During bending (b), an angled tube is crimped onto the pins to hold the motion segment at a fixed angle. Attachment of a polypropylene shield prevented tampering by the mouse. No observable change in bending angle was detected between the times of surgery and sacrifice