Kyphosis most cases of kyphosis are mild and only require routine monitoring, serious cases can be debilitating. High degrees of kyphosis can cause severe pain and discomfort, breathing and digestion difficulties, cardiovascular irregularities, neurological compromise and, in the more severe cases, significantly shortened life spans. These types of high-end curves typically do not respond well to conservative treatment and almost always warrant spinal fusion surgery, which can restore the body's natural degree of curvature. Prevalence of kyphosis has been linked to nasal obstruction in a study. The risk of serious complications from spinal fusion surgery for kyphosis is estimated to be
Body farm State University, Southern Illinois University and Colorado Mesa University. These seven research facilities have been deemed "body farms" due to the nature of the decomposition research they perform. Numerous purposes exist for these research facilities, yet the main purpose of these research facilities is to study and form an understanding of the decompositional changes that occur with the human body. This research is then used for medical, legal and educational purposes. Dr. Richard Jantz, a director of the forensic anthropology center, advises others to look where humans look, breathe and smell by watching how humans perform different movements in everyday