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Function of the degenerate disc: The significance of Intra Discal Vacuum Phenomenon (IDVP) in the lumbar spine

Cawley, Derek T.
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Identifiers
https://hdl.handle.net/10379/19143
 https://doi.org/10.13025/29937
Publication Date
2025-09-01
Keywords
Vacuum disc, disc degeneration, spine, lumbopelvic morphology, pelvic incidence, sagittal balance, deformity, population study, Medicine, Surgery
Type
doctoral thesis
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Abstract
The degenerative process within the lumbar spine has become a large part of spine surgery in westernised society. It encompasses muscular, intra-discal, ligamentous contributions and with advanced aging, bone health and more global sagittal balance disequilibrium. Studies of the spinal column have over the last 30 years included significant analyses of its architecture and morphology. Where deficits present from degeneration of the lumbar spine, most of this is from collapse of the intervertebral disc, which wears out, becoming empty and degenerate and leads to a loss of posture in the aging lumbar spine. The empty disc often remains mobile and manifests as an intradiscal vacuum phenomenon (IDVP), the significance of which we investigate as a central theme in this thesis
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Publisher
University of Galway
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CC BY-NC-ND
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University of Galway Theses (PhD Theses)