scoliosis

Lateral (sideways) deviation of the spine. It may be congenital or acquired (through bad posture, illness, or other deformity); or it may be idopathic (of unknown cause). Treatments include mechanical or surgical correction, depending on the cause.

The presence of a hump on the back used to be associated with Pott's disease, or tuberculous ulceration of the spine, in which the vertebrae collapse on each other, since they cannot support the weight of the upper part of the column; it is now rare in developed countries. Spinal deformities from poliomyelitis have also become increasingly rare in recent years.