["Vertebral" occupational diseases--a single or multi-segmental damage pattern?].

In view of the fact that German social insurance legislation provides for an occupational disease labelled "vertebral column", it is an easy guess that the following question will assume major importance: Does the main vertebral disk disorder among the average population, namely isolated monosegmental vertebral disk damage particularly in segment L5/S 1, fulfill the pre-requisites for being classified as an occupational disease? There are no plausible reasons for linking the isolated monosegmental vertebral disk change with the events of stress insured as occupational diseases and classified under the heading "vertebral column". A connection between these two items is not considered to be likely.