Bone
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Cranial endplates of human vertebrae are injured more often than caudal, in both young and elderly spines. We hypothesise that cranial endplates are inherently vulnerable to compressive loading because of structural asymmetries in the vertebrae. ⋯ When vertebrae are compressed naturally by adjacent intervertebral discs, cranial endplates usually fail before caudal endplates because they are thinner and supported by less dense trabecular bone.