Radiological observation of the tuberculous spondylitis: the relationship between the duration of the disease and the degree of the involvement of the vertebral body

The spine is the most common site of skeletal tuberculosis. It is still common disease in our country althoughrecet advanced theraphy developed with the many preventive medicine. 49 cases of tuberculous spondylitis, provedat the Chosum University Hospital, during period of Aug. 1973 to Aug. 1979, were reviewed. 1. The sex ratiobetween male and female was 1:1.4. Age distrubution showed that the group below 10 years was 12%. 2. The ratiobetween urban and rural was 1:5. 3. The most frequent site of the involvement was lumbar spine(40.8%). The nextwas thoracic(28.6%), thoracolumbar(10.2%), lumbosacral(8.2%), sacroiliac(8.2%), cervical (2.0%), and sacral(2.0%).4. 51.0% was associated with pulmonary tuberculosis and 56.0% of them reveal active pulmonary tuberculosis. 5. Themajor roentgenographic finding were remarkable with destruction of the intervertebral body (91.1%), narrowing ofhte intervertebral space(81.6%), kyphosis(75.5%), collapse of the vertebral body(77.6%), cold abscess (65.3%),calcification of the adjacent area(18.4%), formation of the osteophyte(18.4%). 6. There was no relationshipbetween the duration of the disease and the degree of the involvement of the vertebral body.