Lordosis Health Dictionary

The column of bones and cartilage that extends from the base of the skull to the pelvis, enclosing the spinal cord and supporting the trunk and head. The spine is made up of 33 roughly cylindrical vertebrae. Each pair of adjacent vertebrae is connected by a facet joint, which stabilizes the vertebral column. Between each pair of vertebrae lies a disc-shaped pad of cartilage called an intervertebral disc (see disc, intervertebral). These discs cushion the vertebrae during movement. The vertebrae are bound together by 2 ligaments running the length of the spine and by smaller ligaments between each vertebra. Attached to the vertebrae are several groups of muscles, which control movement of, and help to support, the spine. spine, disorders of Many disorders of the spine cause back pain. Spina bifida is a congenital disorder in which part of the spinal cord is exposed. Sometimes, the spine is abnormally curved (see lordosis, kyphosis, scoliosis). In ankylosing spondylitis, and in some cases of rheumatoid arthritis, spinal joints are affected; osteoarthritis affects the spinal joints of most people over 60. Other disorders affecting the spine are spinal injuries; disc prolapse, and spondylolisthesis.... spine

a group of muscle diseases, marked by weakness and wasting of selected muscles, in which there is a recognizable pattern of inheritance. The affected muscle fibres degenerate and are replaced by fatty tissue. The muscular dystrophies are classified according to the patient’s age at onset, distribution of the weakness, the progression of the disease, and the mode of inheritance. Isolated cases may occur as a result of gene mutation. Confirmation of the diagnosis is based upon *electromyography and muscle biopsy.

One common form is Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, which is inherited as a *sex-linked recessive character and is nearly always restricted to boys. It usually begins before the age of four, with selective weakness and wasting of the muscles of the pelvic girdle and back. The child has a waddling gait and *lordosis of the lumbar spine. The calf muscles – and later the shoulders and upper limbs – often become firm and bulky. Although the disease cannot be cured, physiotherapy and orthopaedic measures can relieve the disability. The identification of the gene abnormality raises the possibility of *gene therapy in the future. See also Becker muscular dystrophy; dystrophia myotonica.... muscular dystrophy