Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Scoliosis

Augusta Zetterling was one of the first women in Sweden to make a living as a photographer. This photo is from a series she took of women and girls with a curvature of the spine called scoliosis. Whereas mild cases of scoliosis may have little effect on a patient’s life, more severe cases can cause breathing difficulties, back pain, and social difficulties caused by their differences in appearance.

Scoliosis by Augusta Zetterling. 1879–1883. Hagstromer Medical Library.