Defective Neural Tube Formation (Continued)

Several other clinical conditions characterized by congenital failure of fusion of the midline structures of the spinal column are grouped under the general classification of spinal dysraphism. These various manifestations of the dysraphic state span a clinical continuum from asymptomatic and unseen bony abnormalities (spina bifida occulta), to cutaneous lesions that can suggest an associated tethered cord (dimple, subcutaneous lipoma or hemangioma), to the most severe and disabling congenital malformations of the spinal structures (myelomeningocele). Early postnatal imaging with MRI has transformed the management of infants with these lesions.

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