1. one of the nine Greek goddesses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who presided over the arts: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia, and Urania. 2. (sometimes l.c.) the inspiration that motivates a poet, artist, or thinker.
The process is superimposed by degenerative changes that can cause stenosis and affect the nerve roots and these changes don't go away, even beyond age 75, as you see in this patient. Since the spine is a mobile organ structure, it does not spontaneously fuse until beyond 70 to 80 years of age.
For example, the phrase spondylosis of the lumbar spine means degenerative changes such as osteoarthritis of the vertebral joints and degenerating intervertebral discs (degenerative disc disease) in the low back. Spondylosis can occur in the cervical spine (neck), thoracic spine (upper and mid back), or lumbar spine (low back).