Poster no. 1634INTRODUCTION: Previously we have created a simple mouse model to study the disc degeneration in mice, using the technique of annular puncture in the mouse tail. The punctured mouse disc undergoes the progressive morphological changes over a period of 12 weeks. Degenerative changes were observed in both annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP), such as appearance of cell clusters in NP and formation of cracks in AF. The objective of the current study is to establish a histological grading system to describe these degenerative changes and evaluate the severity of the degeneration in the punctured murine discs. We hope that this histological grading system can be useful in future study to evaluate the disc degeneration in the mouse …postprin
