The cartilage endplate (CEP) plays an important role in the function and homeostasis of the intervertebral disc by serving as a mechanical stabilizer as well as a pathway for nutrient transport. There is a very little known about CEP due in part to the lack of suitable imaging technique to evaluate the CEP. The purposes of this study were to optimize the parameters of zero echo time (ZTE) MRI in enhancing CEP structure and then to evaluate the morphology of CEP in lumbar spine with herniation of disc using ZTE-MRI.
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