A True Tale of a False Tail: A rare case of Vestigial Tail with Spina Bifida

Abstract

A human tail is a rare congenital anomaly with a prominent lesion in the lumbosacrococcygeal region. True tail does not have any underlying spinal abnormalities, whereas pseudo tails are associated with spinal abnormalities. It requires radiological investigation to differentiate between two and treat accordingly. Long term follow-up is required in case of pseudo tail to assess neurological development. Only few cases have been reported in English literature of vestigial tail with spina bifida. Here we report a case of vestigial tail with spina bifida in a newborn born to a mother with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Human tail- a rare anatomical mystery: A case report

“…Though not proved, gesta-tional diabetes mellitus is also thought to be a causative factor in the pathogenesis of lumbosacral appendages. [4] Tails have been found to be associated with other pathologies of the spine and spinal cord, such as spinal dysraphism, meningomyelocele and tethered spinal cord. [5] It is noteworthy to mention that there has been one case reported in literature with a vertebra in a human caudal tail.…”