Neither the internet nor my darling mother (who is normally a walking encyclopaedia over bizarre diseases) could answer this one, so I turn to the Dope (which has yet to fail me).
A friend told a story about a guy he met at a party, and they got to talking. Eventually this guy said he had something my friend remembered as being called “Devil’s spine”: a congenital condition where the muscles surrounding the spine aren’t there, and the spine itself is exposed. Most babies with this condition die soon after birth apparently, because of infections. This guy had survived because he had a thin layer of skin covering his spine. My friend was allowed to see it, and he said he could see the spine in all its length, under this guy’s skin.
Being my mother’s daughter, I had to find out more about this condition but came up with nothing. Is it called something else? Was it a joke?
It’s called spina bifida occulta when it’s closed by skin, spina bifida aperta when it’s open. The broad category is known as spinal dysraphism, or neural tube defect. It usually only occurs in the lower spine, and is a fairly common birth defect.
Oh, that’s what he meant? Thanks for clearing it up. I know of spina bifida but not the exact symtoms, and had never heard the term “Devil’s spine” before. No idea why he’d call it something that dramatic unless it was for effect or mishearing the word. If there is a historical background to the term, feel free to share.
Oooh, that’s what that refers to? Suddenly everything makes sense. Except we don’t use the term devil’s backbone/spine in my language (Swedish), which makes it a bit weird that this guy would have referred to that term - in English, no less. Oh well. Thanks!
That used to be true, but not anymore, and not for some time now. My husband was born with an exposed spine - no skin covering - but obviously survived the experience. He’ll be 50 next week.
Of course, the condition results in problems, many of them life-long, but most babies born with spina bifida these days do survive, at least in countries where reasonable medical care is available. Obviously, some surgery is required shortly after birth to cover the defect, and frequently subsequent surgeries to deal with related problems, but I don’t want to derail the topic completely.