CT Developmental Conditions of the Spine - Video Lesson

Hey everybody, welcome back. This lesson is about the most common developmental conditions of the spine that we can demonstrate with CT imaging. These conditions are not caused by trauma or tumors or infections. They're the result of abnormal growth patterns before or after the person's birth. We'll start with spina bifida. Spina bifida is a congenital defect caused by incomplete closure of the neural tube during embryonic development, resulting in incomplete fusion of the posterior vertebral arches. The name spina bifida essentially describes the condition. Spina refers to the spine. The prefix bi- in bifida means two, and phyta means split or cleft. So spina bifida is when the spine is literally split into two parts as a result of a congenital defect. Congenital refers to development in the womb. The appearance of spina bifida in CT is exactly as you might imagine. It presents as incomplete fusion of