myelomeningocele Path.
(ˌmaɪələʊmiːˈnɪŋgəʊsiːl)
Also (erron.) -cœle.
[f. myelo- + meningocele s.v. meningo-.]
Spina bifida in which tissue of the spinal cord and its investing membranes (the meninges) protrudes through the cleft, forming a rounded swelling of the skin usu. slightly above the base of the spine; the tissue so protruding. Also called meningomyelocele; cf. myelocele.
| 1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 471/2 In myelomeningocele the external wall of the sac consists not of dura mater but of pia mater turned inside out. 1924, 1952 [see myelocele 1]. 1963 Cecil-Loeb Textbk. Med. (ed. 11) 1581/1 Myelocele involves a lesser defect of the meninges [than meningocele] with exposure of the spinal cord, but without cystic protrusion. Myelomeningocele is characterized by an incorporation of the spinal nerve roots and cord in the sac of a meningocele. 1974 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. III. xxxvi. 9/2 There may be a developmental failure of the spinal cord and then the flat neural plate with its exposed central canal is liable to be involved with the sac and form a myelomeningocoele. |