Cutaneous stigmata indicative of occult spinal dysraphism in two ancient Roman statues

Symptoms of tethered spinal cord syndrome often present later in life and go undiagnosed due to a lack of appreciation of the associated cutaneous stigmata. This is especially true with occult spinal dysraphism. Here, we report cutaneous signs of occult spinal dysraphism identified in two ancient Roman sculptures. Although the significance of such findings may not have been realized, the association between cutaneous stigmata of the back and underlying malformations involving the spinal cord is now recognized, as such findings are typically imaged to evaluate for spinal cord tethering.