Tags: Disease.
Rachischisis (Greek: rhachis – ῥάχις – spine and schisis – σχίσις – split) is a developmental birth defect involving the neural tube. This anomaly occurs in utero when the posterior neuropore of the neural tube fails to close by the 27th intrauterine day. As a consequence the vertebrae overlying the open portion of the spinal cord do not fully form and remain unfused and open leaving the spinal cord exposed.