REGARDING OCCULT SPINAL DYSRAPHISM (SPINA BIFIDA OCCULTA), FOCUSING ESPECIALLY ON A MEDIEVAL POPULATION FROM IAȘI

Occult spinal dysraphism is a congenital anomaly with a relatively high incidence, which may be located along the spine, from the atlas to the sacrum; it is frequently met in the lumbo-sacral junction, and sometimes it affects the entire dorsal sacral region. Spina bifida occulta usually occurs in relatively high percentages in a population (2-30% of the cases). Despite extensive research, the causes of the appearance of spina bifida have not been completely understood; it is, probably, a multifactorial anomaly, most cases of spina bifida are considered to have been caused by complex polygenic interactions with environmental factors. The osteological material dug up in 2007 at the Centre of History and European Civilization from Iași, in the cemetery of the "St. Neculai-Ciurchi" Church (XVI-XVIII centuries), has a total of 680 skeletons taken from 230 graves. In the medieval population from Iași, occult sacral spinal dysraphism occurs only in 2 cases (mature males), having a percentage of 1.55% of the total number of sacrums and 3.22% of the number of masculine sacrums. Cervical, thoracic and lumbar interlaminar dehiscence did not occur in reports in the subgroup of male nor female. We have found no case of cervical, thoracic or lumbar interlaminar dehiscence.