The distal and proximal transverse palmar creases are merged into a single transverse palmar crease.

Short (hypoplastic) middle phalanx of finger, affecting one or more fingers.

Aplasia (absence) of the distal phalanges.

Upper insertion of the ear to the scalp below an imaginary horizontal line drawn between the inner canthi of the eye and extending posteriorly to the ear.

Angle formed by the plane of the ear and the mastoid bone greater than the 97th centile for age (objective); or, outer edge of the helix more than 2 cm from the mastoid at the point of maximum distance (objective).

Hydrocephalus is an active distension of the ventricular system of the brain resulting from inadequate passage of CSF from its point of production within the cerebral ventricles to its point of absorption into the systemic circulation.

A seizure is an intermittent abnormality of nervous system physiology characterized by a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.

Atrophy (wasting, decrease in size of cells or tissue) affecting the cerebrum.

Polymicrogyria is a congenital malformation of the cerebral cortex characterized by abnormal cortical layering (lamination) and an excessive number of small gyri (folds).

Cerebellar hypoplasia is a descriptive term implying a cerebellum with a reduced volume, but a normal shape and is stable over time.

A degree of language development that is significantly below the norm for a child of a specified age.

A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.

A severe delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child.

Developmental hypoplasia of the mandible.

Hypotonia is an abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle). Even when relaxed, muscles have a continuous and passive partial contraction which provides some resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia thus manifests as diminished resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.

Muscular hypotonia (abnormally low muscle tone) affecting the musculature of the trunk.

Occipitofrontal (head) circumference greater than 97th centile compared to appropriate, age matched, sex-matched normal standards. Alternatively, a apparently increased size of the cranium.

Head circumference below 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender.

Increased volume and globular shape of the anteroinferior aspect of the nose.

Posterior positioning of the nasal root in relation to the overall facial profile for age.

Distance between the hairline (trichion) and the glabella (the most prominent point on the frontal bone above the root of the nose), in the midline, more than two SD below the mean. Alternatively, an apparently decreased distance between the hairline and the glabella.

Reduction in the vertical distance between the upper and lower eyelids.

A noncongenital process of hair loss, which may progress to partial or complete baldness.

A reticular discoloration of the skin with cyanotic (reddish-blue appearing) areas surrounding pale central areas due to dilation of capillary blood vessels and stagnation of blood within the vessels. Cutis marmorata generally occurs on the legs, arms and trunk and is often more severe in cold weather.

A nail that is diminished in length and width, i.e., underdeveloped nail.

Aplasia cutis congenita (ACC) is defined as congenital localized absence of skin. The skin appears as a thin, transparent membrane through which the underlying structures are visible. The location is usually on the scalp (Evers et al., 1995). Approximately 20 to 30% of cases have underlying osseous involvement (Elliott and Teebi, 1997). Autosomal dominant inheritance is most common, but recessive inheritance has also been reported. Cutaneous aplasia of the scalp vertex also occurs in Johanson-Blizzard syndrome (243800) and Adams-Oliver syndrome (AOS; 100300). A defect in the scalp is sometimes found in cases of trisomy 13 and in about 15% of cases of deletion of the short arm of chromosome 4, the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS; 194190) (Hirschhorn et al., 1965; Fryns et al., 1973). Evers et al. (1995) provided a list of disorders associated with aplasia cutis congenita, classified according to etiology. They also tabulated points of particular significance in history taking and examination of patients with ACC.

Diminished amniotic fluid volume in pregnancy.

An abnormal reduction in quantity or strength of fetal movements.

A cataract that occurs congenitally as the result of a developmental defect, in contrast to the majority of cataracts that occur in adulthood as the result of degenerative changes of the lens.

Although hypertelorism means an excessive distance between any paired organs (e.g., the nipples), the use of the word has come to be confined to ocular hypertelorism. Hypertelorism occurs as an isolated feature and is also a feature of many syndromes, e.g., Opitz G syndrome (see 300000), Greig cephalopolysyndactyly (175700), and Noonan syndrome (163950) (summary by Cohen et al., 1995).

Microphthalmia is an eye abnormality that arises before birth. In this condition, one or both eyeballs are abnormally small. In some affected individuals, the eyeball may appear to be completely missing; however, even in these cases some remaining eye tissue is generally present. Such severe microphthalmia should be distinguished from another condition called anophthalmia, in which no eyeball forms at all. However, the terms anophthalmia and severe microphthalmia are often used interchangeably. Microphthalmia may or may not result in significant vision loss.\n\nPeople with microphthalmia may also have a condition called coloboma. Colobomas are missing pieces of tissue in structures that form the eye. They may appear as notches or gaps in the colored part of the eye called the iris; the retina, which is the specialized light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye; the blood vessel layer under the retina called the choroid; or in the optic nerves, which carry information from the eyes to the brain. Colobomas may be present in one or both eyes and, depending on their size and location, can affect a person's vision.\n\nPeople with microphthalmia may also have other eye abnormalities, including clouding of the lens of the eye (cataract) and a narrowed opening of the eye (narrowed palpebral fissure). Additionally, affected individuals may have an abnormality called microcornea, in which the clear front covering of the eye (cornea) is small and abnormally curved.\n\nBetween one-third and one-half of affected individuals have microphthalmia as part of a syndrome that affects other organs and tissues in the body. These forms of the condition are described as syndromic. When microphthalmia occurs by itself, it is described as nonsyndromic or isolated.

Atrophy of the optic nerve. Optic atrophy results from the death of the retinal ganglion cell axons that comprise the optic nerve and manifesting as a pale optic nerve on fundoscopy.

A misalignment of the eyes so that the visual axes deviate from bifoveal fixation. The classification of strabismus may be based on a number of features including the relative position of the eyes, whether the deviation is latent or manifest, intermittent or constant, concomitant or otherwise and according to the age of onset and the relevance of any associated refractive error.

Visual impairment (or vision impairment) is vision loss (of a person) to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive correction, medication, or surgery.