Question

On radiological investigation Bamboo spine is typically seen in

• A. Reiter's syndrome
• B. Ankylosing spondylitis
• C. Psoriatic Arthritis
• D. Gout

Hint:

Think of the HLA-B27 linked disease that fuses the spine over time.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

A bamboo spine is a specific X-ray description, and this question is checking which disease produces it.

1. Reiter's syndrome: this reactive arthritis can inflame the sacroiliac joints, but the changes are usually one sided and milder, and rarely progress all the way to a fully fused bamboo looking spine.
2. Ankylosing spondylitis: chronic inflammation here slowly turns the spinal ligaments into bone, bridging one vertebra to the next with syndesmophytes. Over years the whole spine fuses into a rigid column that looks like a stack of bamboo segments on X-ray, the classic bamboo spine.
3. Psoriatic Arthritis: spine involvement here tends to be patchy and asymmetric, with bulky non marginal syndesmophytes, a different look from the neat symmetric bamboo spine.
4. Gout: this disease is about uric acid crystals settling mainly in joints like the big toe, causing punched out erosions with overhanging edges, not spinal fusion.

Only ankylosing spondylitis fuses the spine end to end in the way that earns the bamboo spine description.

Let's summarize:

• Bamboo spine means bridging syndesmophytes fusing the whole spine into one rigid column.
• This is the signature radiological finding of longstanding ankylosing spondylitis.

So ankylosing spondylitis is the correct answer for the disease showing a bamboo spine.