How is the spine visualized?

       The spine is an important pillar to support body weight and maintain various postures of the torso, as well as the hub of torso activity. It is composed of: 7 cervical vertebrae + 12 thoracic vertebrae + 5 lumbar vertebrae + 5 sacral cones + 4 caudal cones. The main manifestations of spine pathology: pain; abnormal posture and morphology; limited mobility.  The physiological curvature of the spine, normal people have four physiological curves when observed laterally in an upright position: 1, the cervical segment is slightly convex forward; 2, the thoracic segment is slightly convex backward; 3, the lumbar spine is significantly convex forward; 4, the sacral cone is significantly convex backward.  Observation of scoliosis of the spine: the patient is observed from behind in sitting or standing position with a finger along the spinous process of the spine with appropriate pressure downward, a red straight scratch, with or without scoliosis.  Lateral cervical bias is seen in congenital oblique neck, where the patient’s head is tilted to one side and the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the affected side is elevated. Excessive backward curvature of the spine is called kyphosis, also known as humpback (Sibbus), and occurs mostly in the thoracic segment of the spine. In kyphosis, the anterior chest is depressed and the head and neck are tilted forward. There are many causes of thoracic kyphosis and the manifestations are not identical.  Excessive forward projection curvature of the spine is called lordosis. It occurs mostly in the lumbar region, where the patient’s abdomen protrudes significantly forward and the hips protrude significantly backward, mostly due to late pregnancy, massive ascites, a large abdominal tumor, forward slippage of the fifth lumbar vertebra, horizontal sacral spine (lumbosacral angle >34 degrees), tuberculosis of the patient’s hip joint, and congenital posterior hip dislocation.  Deviation of the spine away from the posterior midline to the left or right is called scoliosis. According to the location of scoliosis, it is divided into thoracic scoliosis, lumbar scoliosis and combined thoracolumbar scoliosis; it is also divided into postural and organic scoliosis according to the nature of scoliosis.