Die Fehlbildungen der Wirbelkörper

Significance of Resegmentation in the Pathogenesis of Vertebral Body Malformation

“…This can be partial, as in unilateral bar, anterior bar or posterior bar, or total, as in a block vertebra. Junghanns (1937) made schematic drawings of the process of failure of formation. He believed that failure of formation was due to a lack of ossification.…”

“…The pathogenesis of congenital malformations of the vertebral body has been investigated and described by several authors (Junghanns 1937, Ehrenhaft 1943, Schmorl & Junghanns 1971, Rothman & Simeone 1975, Epstein 1976, and Tsou 1978. However, little attention has been paid to the relationship between malformation and the process of resegmentation, and the importance of resegmentation has never been described in detail.…”

“…Congenital malformations of the vertebral body may be classified into two categories: 1) failure of formation and 2) failure of segmentation. As for failure of formation, Junghanns (1937) published schematic drawings of the normal and abnormal development of the vertebral body. The current concepts of the pathogenesis of congenital malformation of the vertebral body seem to be based on his work.…”

The Pathogenesis of Congenital Vertebral Malformations: A Study Based on Observations made in 11 Human Embryos and Fetuses

“…Several authors have commented on the pathogenesis (Feller & Sternberg 1930, Valentin & Putscher 1936, Junghanns 1937, Ehrenhaft 1943, Schmorl & Junghanns 1971, Epstein 1976, and Tsou 1977, but it must be noted that their hypotheses were mostly based on the radiological study of clinical cases or the investigation of older fetuses. Moreover, the interpretation of normal vertebral development on which these theories were based could not be substantiated by recent studies of human embryos (Tanaka & Uhthoff 1981).…”

“…hemivertebra, was due to a lack of cartilaginous anlage of the vertebral body and that the notochord was responsible for the initiation of malformations. However, Junghanns (1937) proposed that failure of formation was due to .a lack of ossification secondary to a lack of vascularization. In failure of segmentation, several theories have been proposed.…”