FIG. 2.

(A) Eight weeks after posterolateral fusion surgery, animals were imaged, under anesthesia, using anteroposterior plain radiography (55 kV, 10 μAs). (B) Lumbar spines were harvested, placed into a lateral bending apparatus, and scanned using micro-computed tomography (μCT) in right-bending, neutral, and left-bending positions at a voxel size of 18 μm isotropic. (C) Corresponding three-dimensional (3D) models of L4 and L5 vertebral bodies were created for 3D kinematic analysis; the six degrees-of-freedom of segmental motion are shown (solid line: positive; broken line: negative). (D) Three-dimensional models of disc wedging: disc height changes in the right (a, c) and left (b, d) regions at each position (3D disc wedging=a+b+c+d). Scale bar=5 mm. Color images available online at www.liebertpub.com/tec