Pott's disease

Pott's disease is a presentation of extrapulmonary tuberculosis that affects the spine, a kind of tuberculous arthritis of the intervertebral joints. More precisely it is called tuberculous spondyloarthropathy and the original name was formed after Percivall Pott (1714-1788), a London surgeon. It is most commonly localized in the thoracic portion of the spine. The fictional Hunchback of Notre Dame had a gibbous deformity (humpback) that is thought to have been caused by tuberculosis.

Diagnosis

• blood tests - elevated blood sedimentation rate
• tuberculin skin test
• radiographs of the spine
• bone scan
• CT of the spine
• bone biopsy