Right convex thoracic female adolescent scoliosis in the light of the thoracospinal concept.

The most common form of idiopathic scoliosis affects perimenarcheal girls who show either a primary or secondary right convex thoracic curve. The patient displays signs of sympathetic dysfunction, morphological and histochemical abnormalities of muscle fibres and platelets and a persisting osteoporosis. Mechanisms that have been proposed for the causation and the development of these features are supported by the evidence in results of studies into the thoracospinal concept of the etiopathogenesis of this form of scoliosis. The interrelation of these late integrated signs and symptoms suggests that this particular form of IS is a disparate clinical nosological entity rather than a mere orthopedic deformity of the spine. Known characteristics of the infantile and this form of adolescent scoliosis further suggest that the juvenile form is an intermediate rather than a separate group and that the use of the term "idiopathic" is, therefore, obsolete. Deciphering the etiopathogenesis of the pathological complex of the right convex female adolescent scoliosis demands research from new standpoints which demands fresh approaches.