Spondylitis deformans

Inflammation of the vertebral joints resulting in the outgrowth of bone-like deposits on the vertebrae, which may fuse and cause rigid and distorted spine.


Spondylitis, thought to result from a rheumatic condition affecting the spinal joints, leading to their immobility and causing a forward curvature of the spine. In some cases, the patient’s posture may become so hunched forward that they need to look through their eyebrows to see ahead. There are two recognized types: the Strumpell-Marie type, which initiates in the hip joint and progresses upward, stiffening joints along the way, sometimes extending as far as the shoulder joints; and Bechterew’s type, a rare variation in which the spinal discs transform into bone, resulting in the entire spine becoming one continuous bone structure. This condition is also referred to as ankylosing spondylitis.


 


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