Inflammation of the bones and cartilage in the spine, usually affecting adolescents.
A spinal deformity with an autosomal dominant inheritance, occurring most commonly in early adolescence and characterized by a marked thoracolumbar kyphosis (an increased convexity of the back in the thoracic area, sometimes referred to as “round-back”). The incidence is about 0.4%, with no gender preference.
Adolescent kyphosis arises as a result of impaired integrity of the bony structures within the spinal vertebrae.
This variant of osteochondritis juvenilis, a condition that impacts children and adolescents, results in the degeneration of the thoracic vertebrae (the spinal bones supporting the ribcage), which leads to kyphosis (a forward curvature of the spine).