dowager's hump
Noun: A specific, abnormal forward curvature of the upper spine, typically in the thoracic region, resulting from the collapse of vertebrae due to osteoporosis. This condition is most commonly observed in elderly women.
The term is used as a medical and descriptive term to refer to the visible physical deformity caused by severe osteoporosis. - The doctor explained that her persistent back pain and stooped posture were due to a dowager's hump. - Preventing osteoporosis is key to avoiding the development of a dowager's hump in later life.
- The term is sometimes considered informal or dated in strict medical contexts, where "kyphosis related to osteoporosis" or "osteoporotic kyphosis" may be preferred.
- It can be used metaphorically to describe a pronounced, rounded upper back posture, even if not medically diagnosed.
- After years at a desk, he developed a posture resembling a dowager's hump.
- Kyphosis (n): The general medical term for an excessive outward curvature of the spine, causing hunching of the back.
- Osteoporotic kyphosis (n): The more precise clinical term for the condition described by "dowager's hump."
- Hunchback (informal, general)
- Kyphosis (medical, general)
- Roundback (descriptive)
The term specifically links the condition (hump) to a demographic historically associated with it (dowager, meaning a widow holding a title or property from her deceased husband, often implying an elderly woman of a certain social standing). It does not refer to other types of spinal curvature or humps caused by different conditions.
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abnormal spinal curvature that results when osteoporosis causes the spine to collapse; seen most often in elderly women
