Jana Brendler and I are working on developmental biology issues that receive little attention but are nevertheless of immense importance. Recently, we studied the fine-tissue structure of the intervertebral disc spaces in mice (Brendler et al., 2021). We were able to show that in mice, depending on the spinal column segment, both described endplate forms, "cartilaginous" and "bony", occur. This suggests caution in the selection of the spinal segments when degenerative spinal changes are to be mimicked and studied in mouse models.
lumbar: cartilaginous tail: bony
