Ricca G F, Robertson J T, Hines R S
Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tennessee, Memphis.
J Neurosurg. 1990 Feb;72(2):282-4. doi: 10.3171/jns.1990.72.2.0282.
Intervertebral disc degeneration of any etiology may be associated with the formation of spaces or clefts within the disc. Gas collects within these spaces and can be seen roentgenographically. A case is presented in which intradiscal gas herniated into a connective tissue capsule, displacing the left S-1 nerve root and producing symptoms and signs identical to those of a herniated nucleus pulposus. The pathophysiology of gas within a disc space and the possibility that it may herniate much like the nucleus pulposus is discussed.
