A 79-year-old male retired military veteran presents to the outpatient clinic with an abnormal curvature of the vertebral column. He complains that it has become increasingly painful to walk around town. Upon physical examination he has an abnormally increased thoracic curvature resulting from osteoporosis. Which of the following is the most likely clinical condition of this patient’s spine?
- Scoliosis
- Kyphosis
- Spinal stenosis
- Lordosis
- Herniated disk
Scoliosis is defined as a lateral deviation of the spinal column to either side. Kyphosis is an increased primary curvature of the spinal column. This curvature is associated with thoracic and sacral regions and is most likely this patient’s clinical condition. Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the vertebral canal and is not directly associated with a displacement of the spinal column. Lordosis is the increased secondary curvature affecting the cervical and lumbar regions. A herniated disk is a rupture of the anulus fibrosus of the intervertebral disk, commonly causing a posterolateral displacement of the nucleus pulposus into the vertebral canal.
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