DYSMELIA - 2 reference results
Dysmelia (from Greek Δύσ - = "bad" plus μέλος (plural μέλεα) = "limb") is a congenital disorder referring to the limbs.
Types
Dysmelia can refer to- missing (aplasia) limbs: amelia, oligodactyly, congenital amputation
- malformation of limbs: ectrodactyly, phocomelia, syndactyly, brachydactyly, clubfoot
- too many limbs: polymelia, polydactyly, polysyndactyly
Occurrence rate
Birth defects involving limbs occur in 1 per 1000.Causes
Dysmelia can be caused by- inheritance of abnormal genes, e.g. polydactyly, ectrodactyly or brachydactyly, symptoms of deformed limbs then often occur in combination with other symptoms (syndromes)
- external causes during pregnancy (thus not inherited), e.g. via amniotic band syndrome
- teratogenic drugs (e.g. thalidomide, which causes phocomelia) or environmental chemicals
- ionizing radiation (atomic weapons, radioiodine, radiation therapy)
- infections
- metabolic imbalance
References
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday August 26, 2008 at 11:39:12 PDT (GMT -0700)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Tuesday August 26, 2008 at 11:39:12 PDT (GMT -0700)
View this article at Wikipedia.org - Edit this article at Wikipedia.org - Donate to the Wikimedia Foundation
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