• Semra Duran, Mehtap Cavusoglu, Hatice Gul Hatipoglu, Deniz Sozmen Cılız, and Bulent Sakman.
• Ankara Numune Training and Research Hospital, Department of Radiology, Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: semraduran91@gmail.com.
• Can Assoc Radiol J. 2017 May 1; 68 (2): 210-216.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to evaluate the association between vertebral endplate morphology and the degree of lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).MethodsIn total, 150 patients who met the inclusion criteria and were 20-60 years of age were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were evaluated for the presence of intervertebral disc degeneration or herniation, and the degree of degeneration was assessed at all lumbar levels. Vertebral endplate morphology was evaluated based on the endplate sagittal diameter, endplate sagittal concave angle (ECA), and endplate sagittal concave depth (ECD) on sagittal MRI. The association between intervertebral disc degeneration or herniation and endplate morphological measurements was analysed.ResultsIn MRI, superior endplates (ie, inferior endplates of the superior vertebra) were concave and inferior endplates (ie, superior endplates of the inferior vertebra) were flat at all disc levels. A decrease in ECD and an increase in ECA were detected at all lumbar levels as disc degeneration increased (P < .05). At the L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels, a decrease in ECD and an increase in ECA were detected in the group with herniated lumbar discs (P < .05). There was no association between lumbar disc degeneration or herniation and endplate sagittal diameter at lumbar intervertebral levels (P > .05). At all levels, ECD of women was significantly lesser than that of men and ECA of women was significantly greater than that of men (P < .05).ConclusionsThere is an association between vertebral endplate morphology and lumbar intervertebral disc degeneration. Vertebral endplates at the degenerated disc level become flat; the severity of this flattening is correlated with the degree of disc degeneration.Copyright © 2016 Canadian Association of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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