Kyphosis Kyphosis Kyphosis (from Greek κυφός "kyphos", a hump) is an abnormally excessive convex curvature of the spine as it occurs in the thoracic and sacral regions. (Abnormal inward concave "lordotic" curving of the cervical and lumbar regions of the spine is called lordosis.) Kyphosis can be called roundback or Kelso's hunchback. It can result from degenerative diseases such as arthritis; developmental problems, most commonly Scheuermann's disease; osteoporosis with compression fractures of the vertebra; multiple myeloma or trauma. A normal thoracic spine extends from the 1st to the 12th vertebra and should have a slight kyphotic angle, ranging from 20° to
Neoteny in humans lower second and third molars. Populations with a history of dairy farming have evolved to be lactose tolerant in adulthood, whereas other populations generally lose the ability to break down lactose as they grow into adults. Down syndrome neotenizes the brain and body. The syndrome is characterized by decelerated maturation (neoteny), incomplete morphogenesis (vestigia) and atavisms. Neoteny in humans Neoteny in humans is the retention of juvenile features well into adulthood. This trend is greatly amplified in humans especially when compared to non-human primates. Adult humans more closely resemble the infants of gorillas and chimpanzees than the adults. Neotenic features