Trigger Warning: Some images may be disturbing for viewers.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy is a genetic disorder that affects the nervous system and muscle movement. It is sectioned into five types: 0, I, II, III, and IV; we will be focusing on Type I.
Another name for the disorder is "Floppy Baby syndrome" or "Werdnig-Hoffmann disease".

[Please don't attempt to pick a baby up by the arms.]


Type I is the most common of the condition [around 80% of those diagnosed have this type] and can be found either at birth or a few months into life. Muscle weakness, poor motor development, and lack of muscle tone are the main issues of SMA.
Babies will have problems sucking and swallowing, making it extremely difficult to feed- us humans have gone past this issue with tubes and other devices. Lions, on the other hand, cannot do this sort of thing. The cub can easily starve, if the vultures haven't carried it away.

Signs of SMA I:
- Severe muscle weakness
- Hypotonia [poor muscle tone; where the 'floppy' comes from]
- Hypermobility [abnormal flexibility]
- Inability to sit or stand [can be a fatal issue regarding lions]

Now, I know you might be thinking: "Could this appear in animals?"
Yes, in fact, it can. It's rare, as lethal mutations are, and will drastically affect the animal.

Note the thinness and general weakness of the legs- the muscle tone is hardly present.

Appears: At birth
Affects Gameplay?: Yes
Lethal? Yes; kills at 1-2 months

Leave a comment! i'd love to hear your opinions and/or add-ons to this!