anencephaly

Also an·en·ce·pha·lia

[an-en-sef-uh-lee]

noun

Medicine/Medical.

1. congenital absence of part or all of the brain.

Other Word Forms

• anencephalic adjective
• anencephalous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of anencephaly¹

From New Latin, dating back to 1825–35; an- ¹, encephal-, -y ³

Example Sentences

Cases of spina bifida dropped 31% and anencephaly declined by 16% after the fortification mandate, according to a federal study cited in the journal Teratology.

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The importance of women having enough folic acid in their bodies before and during pregnancy to prevent permanent and life-threatening birth defects, such as spina bifida and anencephaly, has been known for decades.

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When she was 11 weeks pregnant, her fetus was diagnosed with anencephaly, a fatal condition in which a baby is born without parts of a brain and skull.

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Casiano had been denied an abortion months earlier after she found out her baby had anencephaly, a fatal condition.

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Samantha Casiano, a 29-year-old living in eastern Texas, found out halfway through her pregnancy last year that her daughter, Halo, had a rare diagnosis of anencephaly, where much of the skull and brain is missing.

Read more on Washington Times