Anencephaly
Synonyms
Absence of Brain, Congenital
Anencephalia
Anencephalias
Anencephalies, Partial
Anencephalus
Anencephaly, Hemicranial
Anencephaly, Incomplete
Anencephaly, Partial
Aprosencephalies
Aprosencephaly
Brain Congenital Absence
Congenital Absence of Brain
Hemicranial Anencephaly
Incomplete Anencephaly
Partial Anencephalies
Partial Anencephaly
A malformation of the nervous system caused by failure of the anterior neuropore to close. Infants are born with intact spinal cords, cerebellums, and brainstems, but lack formation of neural structures above this level. The skull is only partially formed but the eyes are usually normal. This condition may be associated with folate deficiency. Affected infants are only capable of primitive (brain stem) reflexes and usually do not survive for more than two weeks. (From Menkes, Textbook of Child Neurology, 5th ed, p247)
See Also