Symptomatic disc degeneration is a complex pathological condition that involves a cascade of events and is not totally understood. In this context, animal models gain an important role, allowing for better understanding of the degenerative process and therapeutic interventions. There are several models with different methods of evaluation of experimental disc degeneration (EDD), including imaging, biochemical, genetics, and histological approaches, but no real gold standard has been set. The authors aim to evaluate EDD by means of automated morphometric analysis and to determine values for differentiating normal and degenerated discs by this method. The criteria mean and total cellular area, mean and total cytoplasm area, and total nuclear area of cells in the nucleus pulposus were able to differentiate the condition of degeneration (p < 0.05). In conclusion, by applying the histomorphometric analysis of EDD, the authors could present an objective measure of EDD changes within the nucleus pulposus, reducing the evaluator bias in future studies and presenting highly sensitive and specific criteria for EDD.
Keywords: animal model; histomorphometry; intervertebral disc degeneration; rabbits.