Prenatal Ultrasound (Mass of the Back)

Lateral ultrasonic view of the back and head of a fetus. Between the thoracic spine (on the left side in the picture) and the head (on the right side in the picture) a cystic, 52 mm long structure is visible. The diagnosis is a large occipital encephalocele. In contrast to anencephaly, encephalocele, and myelomeningocele, a minimal spinal dysraphism is not recognizable prenatally by utrasound because not only a cele is missing, but also the interpeduncular distances are not grossly increased.