Abstract
Spinal dysraphism, as coined by Bremer in 1926 and reintroduced by Lichtenstein during the 1940s, refers to defective fusion of the neural tube in the dorsal midline during embryonic development. The manifestations thereof are varied, from an overt spina bifida as seen externally along the spine such as spina bifida cystica, to a hidden one covered with a layer of skin and therefore called occulta. As time passed, cases emerged that further enhanced the medical community’s insights into the embryology and pathology of dysraphic states, leading to a more comprehensive understanding of the urinary, cutaneous, orthopedic, and skeletal abnormalities associated with spinal dysraphism and particularly occult spinal dysraphism. The result of these advances led to the development of clinically based methodologies for the management of spinal dysraphisms, as pioneered by Ingraham and, later, James and Lassman. Herein, we review the interesting history of our descriptions and understandings of occult spinal dysraphism.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Goodrich JT. A historical review of the surgical treatment of spina bifida. In: Ozek M, editor. Spina bifida management and outcome. Milan: Springer; 2008. p. 3–9.
Safavi-Abbasi S, Mapstone TB, Archer JB, Wilson C, Theodore N, Spetzler RF, Preul MC. History of the current understanding and management of tethered spinal cord. J Neurosurg Spine. 2016;25:78–87.
Gardner WJ. The dysraphic states. Amsterdam: ExcerptaMedica; 1973.
Tubbs RS, Malefant J, Loukas M, Oakes WJ, Oskouian RJ, Fries FN. Enigmatic human tails: a review of their history, embryology, classification, and clinical manifestations. Clin Anat. 2016;29:430–8.
Melo JRT, Pacheco P, Wanderley LE. Unusual spinal dysraphic lesions. Case Rep Pediatr. 2013;2013:210301.
James CCM, Lassman LP. Spinal dysraphism: an orthopedic syndrome in children accompanying occult forms. Arch Dis Child. 1959;35:315–27.
Pryse-Phillips W. Companion to clinical neurology. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2009. p. 134–311.
Lichtenstein BW. Spinal dysraphism: spina bifida and myelodysplasia. Arch Neurol Psychiatr. 1940;44(4):792–810.
James CC, Lassman LP. Spinal dysraphism: spina bifida occulta. London: Butterworths; 1972. p. 3–6.
Sutton JB. Abstract of a clinical lecture on spina bifida occulta, and its relation to ulcus perforans and pes varus. Lancet. 1887;2:4–7.
Tubbs RS, Cezayirli P, Blackerby WT. Govert Bidloo (1649–1713) and the first description of lipomyelomeningocele. Childs Nerv Syst. 2013;29:1219.
Bosmia AN, Tubbs RI, Clapp DC, et al. Johann Conrad Brunner (1653–1727) and the first description of syringomyelia. Childs Nerv Syst. 2014;30:193.
Tardieu GG, Loukas M, Fisahn C, et al. The Italian Giuseppe Muscatello (1866–1951) and his contributions to our understanding of childhood spina bifida aperta and occulta. Childs Nerv Syst. 2017;33:389.
Johnson A. Fatty tumour from the sacrum of a child, connected with the spinal membranes. Trans Pathological Soc Lond. 1857;8:16–8.
Bui CJ, Tubbs RS, Oakes WJ. Tethered cord syndrome in children: a review. Neurosurg Focus. 2007;23:E2.
Hoffman JF, Henrick EB, Humphreys RP. The tethered spinal cord: its protean manifestations, diagnosis and surgical correction. Childs Brain. 1976;2:145–55.
Saker E, Cox M, Loukas M, et al. George J. Garceau (1896–1977) and the first introduction of the “filum terminale syndrome”. Childs Nerv Syst. 2016;33(8):1233–6.
Garceau GJ. The filum terminale syndrome (the cord-traction syndrome). J Bone Joint Surg. 1953;35:711–6.
Lew SM, Kothbauer KF. Tethered cord syndrome: an updated review. Pediatr Neurosurg. 2007;43(3):236–48.
Yamada S. Introduction to tethered cord syndrome. In:Tethered cord syndrome in children and adults. 2nd ed. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers; 2010.
Saker E, Loukas M, Fisahn C, Oskouian RJ, Tubbs RS. Historical perspective of split cord malformations: a tale of two cords. Pediatr Neurosurg. 2017;52(1):1–5.
Humphry GM. Six specimens of spina bifida with bony projections from the bodies of the vertebrae into the vertebral canal. J Anat Physiol. 1886;20(Pt 4):584.1–592.
Pang D, Dias MS, Ahab-Barmada M. Split cord malformation: part I: a unified theory of embryogenesis for double spinal cord malformations. Neurosurgery. 1992;31(3):451–80.
Schmidt C, Bryant E, Iwanaga J, et al. Meningocele manqué: a comprehensive review of this enigmatic finding in occult spinal dysraphism. Childs Nerv Syst. 2017;33(7):1065–71.
Rajpal S, Salamat MS, Tubbs RS, Kelly DR, Oakes WJ, Iskandar BJ. Tethering tracts in spina bifida occulta: revisiting an established nomenclature. J Neurosurg Spine. 2007;7:315–22.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Jensen, C.J., Vetter, M., Choi, P.J., Oskouian, R.J., Tubbs, R.S. (2019). Historical Perspective of Occult Spinal Dysraphism. In: Tubbs, R., Oskouian, R., Blount, J., Oakes, W. (eds) Occult Spinal Dysraphism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10994-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10994-3_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10993-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10994-3
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)