西雅图居民Kiana Hall拍摄的一只名为Jimothy的浣熊近日引发网络关注，该浣熊患有短脊椎综合征这一罕见先天性疾病[1]。短脊椎综合征是由脊椎在子宫内发育不全导致的先天畸形[1]，患病动物虽然四肢长度正常，但脊椎明显缩短，从而呈现出圆形、无颈部的外观[1]。
这种疾病并非仅限于浣熊。短脊椎综合征也可能影响犬类、小牛等其他哺乳动物[1]。历史上曾多次出现过患病案例，1968年的一篇论文记录了17世纪瑞典画家David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl绘制的两只患此症的犬类[1]，20世纪60年代日本也曾报告过该病例[1]。该综合征在野生或救援动物中最常见[1]，但许多患此症的动物可能在子宫内或出生后初期无法存活[1]。
A raccoon named Jimothy from Seattle has gained widespread attention online due to short spine syndrome, a rare congenital condition that impairs vertebral development in the womb [1]. Seattle resident Kiana Hall captured video footage of the animal, which displays the characteristic appearance of the disorder: a rounded body shape with virtually no visible neck [1]. Despite having limbs of normal length, animals with this condition have dramatically shortened spines [1].
Short spine syndrome, while exceptionally uncommon, is not unique to raccoons and can affect other mammals including dogs and calves [1]. Historical records document the condition's presence across centuries and continents. A 1968 academic paper referenced two affected dogs depicted by 17th-century Swedish painter David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl [1], and clinical reports from Japan documented cases during the 1960s [1]. The syndrome typically appears most frequently in wild or rescued animals [1], though many individuals born with the condition may not survive in utero or shortly after birth [1].
