Summary
Ten anencephalic fetuses (7 female, 3 male) of different intrauterine ages were thoroughly dissected, their endocrine glands studied histologically and their skeletal system and cerebral vascular system radiologically.
In all the fetuses the roof and the lateral wall of the orbit were deficient, the retinae were thin with few ganglion cells, the stratum opticum was absent and the optic nerves were devoid of nerve fibres. In two fetuses only the medula oblongata of the brain was present with normal attachments of the last five cranial nerves. In others no trace of the brain tissue was found. The spinal cord showed no tracts in the white matter. In nine fetuses the vault of the skull and some cervical segments were completely absent and the foramen magnum was deficient.
Absence of the neurohypophysis, adrenals, hypotrophy of the adenohypophysis and hypertrophy of the gonads (particularly the ovaries, the testes being normal), thyroid and thymus were observed, and explanations for these changes are given.
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From the Department of Anatomy, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry-6.
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Mitra, S.C. Human anencephalic monsters. Indian J Pediatr 35, 480–483 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02753120
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02753120