Associations between various factors and rod deformation at the concave side (°) using multiple stepwise linear regression analysis.

<p>Associations between various factors and rod deformation at the concave side (°) using multiple stepwise linear regression analysis.</p

Implant rod angle of curvature at the concave and convex sides of the deformity.

<p>(<b>A</b>) θ1 and θ2 at the concave side of each patients. (<b>B</b>) θ1 and θ2 at the convex side of each patients. (<b>C</b>) Comparison between θ1 and θ2 at the concave side. (<b>D</b>) Comparison between θ1 and θ2 at the convex side. (<b>E</b>) Comparison between Δθ at the concave side and Δθ at the convex side.</p

Correlation analysis between rod deformation and variable in patients with rod deformation ≥14 ° at the concave side.

<p>Correlation analysis between rod deformation and variable in patients with rod deformation ≥14 ° at the concave side.</p

Rod angle before and after implantation.

<p>(<b>A</b>) Prior to implantation, the surgeon traced the rod shapes on paper. The angle between the proximal and distal tangential line was measured (θ1). (<b>B</b>) Postoperative implant rod geometry (θ2) was obtained after the surgical operation using computed tomography.</p

Intervertebral disc degeneration and needle size.

<p>Intervertebral disc degeneration and needle size.</p

Punctured region and intervertebral disc degeneration compared to the control.

<p>Punctured region and intervertebral disc degeneration compared to the control.</p

The location of a needle in the intervertebral disc was evaluated using micro-computed tomography scanning.

<p>(<b>a</b>) The punctured region was confirmed by multiplanar reconstruction views. (<b>b</b>) The punctured region was defined as the ventral (V), central (C), or dorsal (D) region.</p

The flowchart of the experiment indicating the time course and the case number.

<p>V, ventral region; C, central region; D, dorsal region.</p

The novel proposed histological grading score.

<p>Arrows indicate the serpentine findings in the annulus fibrosus.</p

Correlation analysis between our histological score and MRI index.

<p>The blue, black, and red dots indicate the ventral, dorsal, and central region cases, respectively. Ovals indicate 50% confidence ellipse with bivariate normal distribution of each region.</p