A comparative chemical and histochemical study of the chondrodystrophoid and nonchondrodystrophoid canine intervertebral disc.

The chemical composition of the intervertebral disc of 9-month-old chondrodystrophoid and nonchondrodystrophoid dogs was studied for collagen, noncollagenous protein and glycosaminoglycan. Content of these substances differed significantly between breeds. The differences were most marked in the nucleus pulposus; the noncollagenous protein content of the nonchondrodystrophoid breed was higher than in that of the chondrodystrophoid dogs. The total nitrogen value of the nonchondrodystrophoid nuclei pulposi was less than that of the corresponding chondrodystrophoid discs mainly because of the high collagen content of the latter discs. Histochemically, it was found that the nuclei pulposi of the nonchondrodystrophoid breed contains larger amounts of glycosaminoglycan than in the discs of the chondrodystrophoid breeds.