What is Spina bifida?

What is Spina bifida?

• Spina bifida: A birth defect where the spinal vertebrae do not completely enclose the spinal cord often resulting in various degrees of nerve damage.
• Spina bifida: Congenital defects of closure of one or more vertebral arches, which may be associated with malformations of the spinal cord, nerve roots, congenital fibrous bands, lipomas, and congenital cysts. These malformations range from mild (e.g., SPINA BIFIDA OCCULTA) to severe, including rachischisis where there is complete failure of neural tube and spinal cord fusion, resulting in exposure of the spinal cord at the surface. Spinal dysraphism includes all forms of spina bifida. The open form is called SPINA BIFIDA CYSTICA and the closed form is SPINA BIFIDA OCCULTA. (From Joynt, Clinical Neurology, 1992, Ch55, p34)
  Source - Diseases Database
• Spina bifida: a not uncommon congenital defect in which a vertebra is malformed; unless several vertebrae are affected or there is myelomeningocele there are few symptoms; can be diagnosed by amniocentesis.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Spina bifida is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Spina bifida, or a subtype of Spina bifida, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Spina bifida as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Spina bifida: Introduction

Types of Spina bifida:

Types of Spina bifida:

• Myelomeningocele - most severe form with spinal cord exposure
• Meningocele - a severe form with the meninges protruding outside the spine under the skin of the back
• Occult spina bifida - the mildest form with often a small spinal defect often in the lower back
• more types...»

Broader types of Spina bifida:

• Congenital conditions
• Congenital malformations
• Cephalic disorders
• Neural tube defect
• Spinal Cord Disorders
• Back conditions
• Spinal cord conditions
• Spine conditions
• Brain conditions
• Nervous system conditions
• Congenital conditions - physical defects
• more types...»

How many people get Spina bifida?

Incidence (annual) of Spina bifida: 6 per 100,000 births
Incidence Rate of Spina bifida: approx 1 in 1,133,333 or 0.00% or 240 people in USA [about data]
Incidence of Spina bifida: Each year in the U.S., 4,000 pregnancies are affected by birth defects of the spine and brain, called spina bifida and anencephaly. (Source: excerpt from Folic Acid: NWHIC)

How serious is Spina bifida?

Complications of Spina bifida: see complications of Spina bifida
Prognosis of Spina bifida: The prognosis for individuals with SB depends on the number and severity of abnormalities. Prognosis is poorest for those with complete paralysis, hydrocephalus, and other congenital defects. With proper care, most children with SB live well into adulthood. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Spina Bifida Information Page: NINDS)

What causes Spina bifida?

Causes of Spina bifida: see causes of Spina bifida
Cause of Spina bifida: Incomplete fetal development of brain and spinal cord during pregnancy called a neural tube defect.
Risk factors for Spina bifida: see risk factors for Spina bifida

What are the symptoms of Spina bifida?

Symptoms of Spina bifida: see symptoms of Spina bifida

Complications of Spina bifida: see complications of Spina bifida

Can anyone else get Spina bifida?

More information: see contagiousness of Spina bifida
Inheritance: see inheritance of Spina bifida

Spina bifida: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Spina bifida.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Spina bifida.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Spina bifida: see treatments for Spina bifida
Prevention of Spina bifida: see prevention of Spina bifida
Research for Spina bifida: see research for Spina bifida

Society issues for Spina bifida

Hospitalization statistics for Spina bifida: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Spina bifida:

• 0.007% (948) of hospital consultant episodes were for spina bifida in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 89% of hospital consultant episodes for spina bifida required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 40% of hospital consultant episodes for spina bifida were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 60% of hospital consultant episodes for spina bifida were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 15% of hospital consultant episodes for spina bifida required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 9.3 days was the mean length of stay in hospitals for spina bifida in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 4 days was the median length of stay in hospitals for spina bifida in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• more statistics...»

Organs Affected by Spina bifida:

Organs and body systems related to Spina bifida include:

• Nerves
• Spinal cord

Name and Aliases of Spina bifida

Main name of condition: Spina bifida

Class of Condition for Spina bifida: congen.defect

SB, Rachichisis posterior

Spinal dysraphism Source - Diseases Database

Rachischisis, Schistorrhachis
Source - WordNet 2.1

SB
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Spina bifida: Related Conditions

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Spina bifida:

• Spina bifida cystica
• Spina bifida occulta
• SBO
• Myelomeningocele
• Myelodysplasia
• Syringomeningocele
• Rachischisis posterior
• Syringomyelocele
• Diastematomyelia
• Dysraphia
• Arnold-Chiari deformity
• Craniorachischisis
• Spondyloschisis

Search Specialists by State and City