Nerve root compression by herniated intradiscal gas

Abstract

✓ 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.