Oxford Textbook of the Newborn | 2021
Cats, frogs, and snakes
Abstract
Disturbed neurulation fascinated scientists of all times. In Egypt, brainless infants were venerated as animal-headed gods. Roman law required them to be killed. The medieval world held the mother responsible, either because of assumed imagination or ‘miswatching’, or because of suspected intercourse with animals or devils. Modern embryology and teratology began with the use of the microscope by Malpighi in 1672. Details of neural tube closure were described by Kölliker in 1861 and His in 1874. From 1822, genetic disease and familiar recurrence due to insufficient nutrition were discerned and lower social class identified as a risk factor. It took a century to define the malnutrition as insufficient folate intake. The mandatory supplementation of folate in staple foods successfully reduced the incidence of neural tube defects in the US, Australia, Canada, and Chile, but it was not adopted by most European countries.