• Tianchi Zhou, Bowei Xiao, Juying Huang, Tianhua Rong, Bingxuan Wu, and Baoge Liu.
• Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 119 South 4th Ring West Road, Fengtai District, Beijing, 100070, China.
• Eur Spine J. 2024 Sep 6.

PurposeTo compare the mechanical properties of human annulus fibrosus obtained by forceps versus bistoury and observe whether the measurement could be affected by forceps sampling method.MethodsIn this study, the mechanical properties of the the extracellular matrix (ECM) of human annulus fibrosus, including elastic modulus and stiffness, were investigated using atomic force microscope (AFM). Tissue was obtained from patients during operation using a bistoury or nucleus pulposus forceps. Tissues obtained with the nucleus pulposus forceps were considered as the forceps group and those obtained with a bistoury were considered as the bistoury group.ResultsThere was no significant difference observed between the forceps and bistoury group according to histological staining. The elastic modulus of the forceps group was 0.41 ± 0.08 MPa, and that of bistoury group was 0.53 ± 0.13 MPa, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The stiffness of the forceps group was 0.024 ± 0.003 N/m, and that of the bistoury group was 0.037 ± 0.003 N/m, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05).ConclusionThe results indicate that the forceps sampling method has a substantial negative effect on the micromechanical properties of the ECM of the annulus fibrosus. Bistoury sampling method is recommended as the experimental subject for exploring the micromechanics mechanisms of cervical degenerative disease.© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

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