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neural tube defect a congenital defect in closure of the bony encasement of the spinal cord or of the skull. The most severe defects are a fissure along the entire length of the vertebral column, which leaves the meninges and spinal cord exposed (rachischisis), or herniation through the skull of a saclike structure containing brain tissue and meninges (encephalocele). Anencephaly is a major defect in which the brain is absent and there is only an exposed vascular mass with no bony covering. Spina bifida refers to abnormal closure of the vertebral canal with or without visible protrusion of the meninges and spinal cord through the cleft.
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