OBJECTIVE: Preliminary histological investigation to determine whether vertebral body osteophytosis can compromise adjacent paraspinal autonomic structures.
DESIGN: Histological sections of the L4 to S1 vertebral bodies were cut in the coronal plane at a thickness of 200 microns for morphological studies using transmitted light microscopy.
RESULTS: Morphological evidence is presented which supports the hypothesis that vertebral body osteophytes appear to compromise adjacent paraspinal autonomic structures.
CONCLUSION: Motion segment osteophytosis may affect viscera via the autonomic nervous system.
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