SPINAL CURVATURE

Pronunciation (US): (GB):

Meaning:

An abnormal curvature of the vertebral column

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("spinal curvature" is a kind of...):

abnormalcy; abnormality (an abnormal physical condition resulting from defective genes or developmental deficiencies)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "spinal curvature"):

humpback; hunchback; kyphosis (an abnormal backward curve to the vertebral column)

hollow-back; lordosis (an abnormal inward (forward) curvature of the vertebral column)

scoliosis (an abnormal lateral curve to the vertebral column)

dowager's hump (abnormal spinal curvature that results when osteoporosis causes the spine to collapse; seen most often in elderly women)