Intervertebral disc. Light micrograph of the disc of cartilage between two vertebrae in the spine. The intervertebral disc consists of a central core of gel-like material called the nucleus pulposus (pale, centre) surrounded by fibrocartilage (pink). Above and below the intervertebral disc, where it meets the bone of the adjacent vertebral bodies, is a layer of hyaline cartilage (purple). The vertebral bodies (vertebrae, top and bottom) contain hollow spaces filled with bone marrow (pink, granular). Magnification: x70 when printed at 10cm wide.