Glossary items beginning with B (8).
Basilar Impression/ Invagination - The upper cervical spine presses into the base of the skull (foramen magnum). Spinal cord or brainstem compression may occur. Diseases which cause softening of the bone may cause this.
Bilateral Facet Dislocation - Usually a bilateral cervical spine injury involving a severe ligamentous / soft tissue injury, allowing the cephalad vertebra to move forward on the inferior vertebra. This usually requires surgical intervenation.
Biomechanical Back Pain - Induced by muscular strain/ ligamentous injury, causing other muscles or structures to become stressed, becoming painful also.
Block Vertebrae - The congenital fusion of two or more vertebrae. These vertebrae do not have normal growth potential.
BMP - Bone morphogenetic protein. A genetically engineered protein which stimulates bone production, to help your bone heal and/or fuse. These proteins are made by our bodies, but in much smaller quantities. These are added to your bone. BMP is not yet FDA-approved for all types of surgery, but surgeons may use the medicine for whatever application they feel is appropriate for the patient.
Body Cast - A cast which surrounds the chest, abdomen and pelvis. It may also include the shoulders. This may be used to correct scoliosis in very young patients or for postoperative spinal immobilization.
Bone Graft - Human bone, which is harvested from one location in an individual and placed in another individual (allograft bone) or in a different location in the same individual (autogenous bone). A common place to take autogenous bone graft from is the anterior and posterior iliac crests (the hip bones).
Bone Spur - An overgrowth of bone in response to stress or injury.