Some Neurological Observations on Children with Spina Bifida Cystica and Associated Paraplegia [Abstract]

Spina bifida cystica.

Studies in Spina Bifida Cystica

Nicolai Tulp, the physician whose features are immortalized in Rembrandt's painting 'The School of Anatomy', first suggested the name 'spina bifida' (Tulpius, 1652), though the condition was known to Hippocrates, and the mediaeval Arab physicians are said (Denuce, 1906) to have specifically recognized the absence of the spinous processes in the affected area. Ruysch (1691) distinguished between...

Selection for treatment in spina bifida cystica.

This paper discusses (1) the mortality in 295 patients with myelomeningocele born 1961-9, (2) the "quality of life" of 88 surviving patients born 1961-5, and (3) their implications for selection for treatment in spina bifida cystica. Evidence is presented that high neurological levels, the presence of severe hydrocephalus, especially if present at birth, meningitis and ventriculitis, and gross ...

Handicap and social status of adults with spina bifida cystica.

The present physical handicaps and social status of 202 survivors of spina bifida cystica attending The Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street before 1954 are described. Ninety-three of the patients, mostly with uncomplicated meningocele, had escaped serious disability and were living normal lives. But 109 had a serious disability, including three who are mentally retarded. Some of the...

Bacterial Meningitis in Spina Bifida Cystica

Meningitis is a well-known complication of meningomyelocele, but the problems of its diagnosis and treatment have so far received scant attention. Some children with meningomyelocele have a small neurological deficit and no hydrocephalus. Others with hydrocephalus may benefit from modern treatment and grow up to lead normal lives. The problem of meningitis in meningomyelocele is, therefore, wor...