phocomelia
Sign in to savePhocomelia is a congenital disorder that involves malformations of human arms and legs which result in a flipper-like appendage. A prominent cause of phocomelia is the mother being prescribed the use of the drug thalidomide during pregnancy; however, the causes of most cases are to be determined.
Key facts
- Medical condition (new).name
- Phocomelia
- Medical condition (new).image
- Thalidomide effects.jpg
- Medical condition (new).caption
- Cases of severe thalidomide-induced phocomelia
via Wikipedia infobox
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Encyclopedic overview
8 sectionsContents
- Signs and symptoms
- Thalidomide syndrome symptoms
- Causes
- Thalidomide
- Genetic inheritance
- Treatment
- Notable cases
- References
Phocomelia is a congenital disorder that involves malformations of human arms and legs which result in a flipper-like appendage. A prominent cause of phocomelia is the mother being prescribed the use of the drug thalidomide during pregnancy; however, the causes of most cases are to be determined.
Occurrence in an individual results in various abnormalities to the face, limbs, ears, nose, vessels and many other underdevelopments. Although operations may improve some abnormalities, many are not surgically treatable due to the lack of nerves and other related structures.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “phocomelia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.