What are encephaloceles and meningoceles?

Also known as: meningoencephalocele, cephalocele.

An encephalocele is a rare disorder (neural tube defect) where the bones of a fetus’s skull (anywhere from the nose to the back of the head) do not close all the way resulting in a space through which the tissues surrounding the brain (cerebrospinal fluid and meninges) and brain tissue itself bulges.

A meningocele is like an encephalocele but only contains the cerebrospinal fluid and meninges and the sac protrudes from the spinal column.

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Reviewed by: John Ragheb, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM