Abstract: Background: Cigarette smoking adversely affects fracture repair, causing delayed healing or nonunion rates twice those seen in nonsmokers. Purpose: We sought to investigate if cigarette smoke differentially affects ...

Abstract: The cartilage endplates (CEPs) on the superior and inferior surfaces of the intervertebral disk (IVD), are the primary nutrient transport pathways between the disk and the vertebral body. Passive diffusion is responsible ...