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The lumbar region of a newborn baby with myelomeningocele

This is a defect of the spine and spinal cord which comes under a condition called Spina bifida, a treatable spinal malformation in which the two halves of the vertebral arch fails to fuse, leading to the protrusion or herniation of the meninges, CSF, and spinal cord through the vertebral defect. Myelomeningocele is the most severe form, resulting in an open lesion or sac that contains dysplastic spinal cord, nerve roots, meninges, vertebral bodies, and skin (the image above). The image shows an almost intact skin, and the placode-containing remnants of nervous tissue can be observed in the center of the lesion, which is filled with cerebrospinal fluid.Standard treatment is a surgical repair. This surgery aims to prevent further damage of the nervous tissue and to prevent infection, pediatric neurosurgeons operate to close the opening on the back. The spinal cord and its nerve roots are put back inside the spine and covered with meninges.Photo by @myneurosurgery