Diagnosis of spina bifida and other dysraphic states in the fetus

Neural tube defects (NTD) include anencephaly, encephaloceles and spinal dysraphism. Although this volume deals primarily with spina bifida, for the interest of the reader we include a brief summary of the current role of ultrasound in the assessment of the normal and abnormal spine. Furthermore, an overview of other entities, anencephaly and encephaloceles, and, at the end of the chapter, a small review of the prenatal diagnosis of closed spinal dysraphism, have been included.