Title: Spinal fusion
Content:  Spinal fusion, also called spondylodesis or spondylosyndesis, is a neurosurgical or orthopedic surgical technique that joins two or more vertebrae. This procedure can be performed at any level in the spine (cervical, thoracic, or lumbar) and prevents any movement between the fused vertebrae. There are many types of spinal fusion and each technique involves using bone grafting—either from the patient (autograft), donor (allograft), or artificial bone substitutes—to help the bones heal together. Additional hardware (screws, plates, or cages) is often used to hold the bones in place while the graft fuses the two vertebrae together. The placement of hardware can be guided by fluoroscopy, navigation systems, 
Title: Spinal fusion
Content:  robotics. Spinal fusion is most commonly performed to relieve the pain and pressure from mechanical pain of the vertebrae or on the spinal cord that results when a disc (cartilage between two vertebrae) wears out (degenerative disc disease). Other common pathological conditions that are treated by spinal fusion include spinal stenosis, spondylolisthesis, spondylosis, spinal fractures, scoliosis, and kyphosis. Like any surgery, complications may include infection, blood loss, and nerve damage. Fusion also changes the normal motion of the spine and results in more stress on the vertebrae above and below the fused segments. As a result, long-term complications include degeneration at these adjacent spine segments.
Title: Spinal fusion
Content: Anterior decompression and fusion ; Posterior instrumentation and fusion – many different types of hardware can be used to help fuse the thoracic spine including sublaminar wiring, pedicle and transverse process hooks, pedicle screw-rod systems, vertebral body plate systems. 
Title: Laminotomy
Content:  Spinal fusion involves fusing two vertebrae together using a spacer, and is intended to prohibit movement at that particular segment. Screws are typically inserted to assure that the spacer is held in place. The most common lumbar spinal fusion occurs between L4 and L5. A lumbar spinal fusion may be recommended when non-surgical treatment options for severe degenerative disc disease are ineffective. A laminotomy would not be effective in this case, since this procedure is concerning a degenerated disc that needs to be removed in order to relieve certain symptoms.
Title: Spinal fusion
Content:  There are many types of spinal fusion techniques. Each technique varies depending on the level of the spine and the location of the compressed spinal cord/nerves. After the spine is decompressed, bone graft or artificial bone substitute is packed between the vertebrae to help them heal together. In general, fusions are done either on the anterior (stomach), posterior (back), or both sides of the spine. Today, most fusions are supplemented with hardware (screws, plates, rods) because they have been shown to have higher union rates than non-instrumented fusions. Minimally invasive techniques are also becoming more popular. These techniques use advanced image guidance systems to insert rods/screws into the spine through smaller incisions, allowing for less muscle damage, blood loss, infections, pain, and length of stay in the hospital. The following list gives examples of common types of fusion techniques performed at each level of the spine:
Title: Spinal fusion
Content: Degenerative disc disease ; Spinal disc herniation ; Discogenic pain ; Spinal tumor ; Vertebral fracture ; Scoliosis ; Kyphosis (e. g., Scheuermann's disease) ; Lordosis ; Spondylolisthesis ; Spondylosis ; Posterior rami syndrome ; Other degenerative spinal conditions ; Any condition that causes instability of the spine  Spinal fusion can be used to treat a variety of conditions affecting any level of the spine—lumbar, cervical and thoracic. In general, spinal fusion is performed to decompress and stabilize the spine. The greatest benefit appears to be in spondylolisthesis, while evidence is less good for spinal stenosis. The most common cause of pressure on the spinal cord/nerves is degenerative disc disease. Other common causes include disc herniation, spinal stenosis, trauma, and spinal tumors. Spinal stenosis results from 
Title: Spinal fusion
Content: Posterolateral fusion is a bone graft between the transverse processes in the back of the spine. These vertebrae are then fixed in place with screws or wire through the pedicles of each vertebra, attaching to a metal rod on each side of the vertebrae. ; Interbody Fusion is a graft where the entire intervertebral disc between vertebrae is removed and a bone graft is placed in the space between the vertebra. A plastic or titanium device may be placed between the vertebra to maintain spine alignment and disc height.  The types of interbody fusion are: ; Anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) – the disc is accessed from an anterior abdominal incision ; Posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) – the disc is accessed from a posterior incision ; Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) – the disc is accessed from a posterior incision on one side of the spine ; Transpsoas interbody fusion (DLIF or XLIF) – the disc is accessed from an incision through the psoas muscle on one side of the spine ; Oblique lateral lumbar interbody fusion (OLLIF) – the disc is accessed from an incision through the psoas muscle obliquely 
Title: Spinal fusion
Content: Cervical Spinal Fusion. WebMD. ; A Patient's Guide to Anterior Cervical Fusion. University of Maryland Medical Center. ; Boatright, K. C. and S. D. Boden. Chapter 12: Biology of Spine Fusion. In: Lieberman, J., et al., Eds. Bone Regeneration and Repair. Totowa, New Jersey: Humana Press. 2005. pp. 225–239. ISBN: 978-0-89603-847-9. ; Holmes, C. F., et al. Chapter 9: Cervical Spine Injuries. In: Schenck, R. F., AAOS. Athletic Training in Sports Medicine. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. 2005. pp. 197–218. ISBN: 0-89203-172-7 ; Camillo, F. X. Chapter 36: Arthrodesis of the Spine. In: Canale, S. T. and J. H. Beaty. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics 2. (11th Ed.). Philadelphia: Mosby. 2007. pp. 1851–1874. ISBN: 978-0-323-03329-9. ; Williams, K. D. and A. L. Park. 
Title: Spinal fusion
Content: Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) ; Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion ; Posterior cervical decompression and fusion 
Title: Minimally-invasive thoracic spinal fusion
Content: Scoliosis is a three-dimensional curvature of the spine. ; Spinal fusion is when the discs of the spine are removed and replaced with donor bone. The fusion is usually stabilized with a rod. ; Idiopathic means arising spontaneously or from an obscure or unknown cause. 

Question: what does it mean to fuse the spine?
Answer: joins two or more vertebrae.