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False-colour digitised photograph of a woman's back showing a scoliosis, a lateral curvature of the spine. Scoliosis typically begins in childhood, progressing until growth stops & resulting in an S-shaped spine. The cause of juvenile scoliosis is obscure. More unusually, the condition may result from a congenital abnormality of the spinal bones, from weakening of the spinal muscles in polio, or through one leg being shorter than the other. Treatment is directed towards the cause, if known. Slight scoliosis of unknown cause may not require treatment. Progressive scoliosis is treated by immobilization & surgery to fuse the affected spinal vertebrae. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)