Table 1.

Gross Morphology Criteria Used to Score Segmental Regions (AF and NP) Shown in Figure 1 for Each Disc.^a

AF Morphological Grades Applied to each AF Quadrant	NP Morphological Grades Applied to Each Half of NP
Grade 0: Normal disc—no annular disruption, discoloration, or hemorrhage	Grade 0: Normal NP—no discoloration or hemorrhage
Grade 1: Minor disruption—annular disruption with minor discoloration and/or hemorrhage	Grade 1: Minor disruption—minor disruption, discoloration, and/or hemorrhage; <10% NP region; minor fissuring and nuclear dehydration may be evident
Grade 2: Moderate disruption—annular disruption with medium discoloration and/or hemorrhage	Grade 2: Moderate disruption—medium disruption, discoloration, and/or hemorrhage; 10%-50% of NP region; moderate fissuring and nuclear dehydration may be evident
Grade 3: Major disruption—annular disruption with significant discoloration and/or hemorrhage	Grade 3: Major disruption—significant disruption, discoloration, and/or hemorrhage; 50%-75% NP region; major fissuring and nuclear dehydration may be evident
Grade 4: Complete disruption—annular disruption with extensive discoloration and/or hemorrhage	Grade 4: Complete disruption—extensive disruption, discoloration, and/or hemorrhage; >75% NP region; extensive fissuring and dehydration may be evident

Abbreviations: AF, annnulus fibrosus; NP, nucleus pulposus.

^a The sum of all regional scores (AF1, AF2, AF3, AF4, NP1, and NP2) yielded a total disc degeneration score between 0 (normal) and 24 (severely degenerated) for each disc. Table is described in Daly et al²⁶ and adapted from the method described by Oehme et al.¹³