Cryptorchidism, or failure of testicular descent, is a common human congenital abnormality with a multifactorial etiology that likely reflects the involvement of endocrine, environmental, and hereditary factors. Cryptorchidism can result in infertility and increases risk for testicular tumors. Testicular descent from abdomen to scrotum occurs in 2 distinct phases: the transabdominal phase and the inguinoscrotal phase (summary by Gorlov et al., 2002).

Abnormally small penis. At birth, the normal penis is about 3 cm (stretched length from pubic tubercle to tip of penis) with micropenis less than 2.0-2.5 cm.

Webbing or fusion of the fingers or toes, involving soft parts only or including bone structure. Bony fusions are referred to as "bony" syndactyly if the fusion occurs in a radio-ulnar axis. Fusions of bones of the fingers or toes in a proximo-distal axis are referred to as "symphalangism".

Diminished length of one or more metacarpal bones in relation to the others of the same hand or to the contralateral metacarpal.

The absence of the major creases of the palm (distal transverse crease, proximal transverse crease, or thenar crease).

A deficiency or slowing down of growth pre- and postnatally.

A type of hearing impairment in one or both ears related to an abnormal functionality of the cochlear nerve.

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).

Over-sensitivity to certain frequency ranges of sound.

Underdevelopment of the corpus callosum.

Persistent deficits in social interaction and communication and interaction as well as a markedly restricted repertoire of activity and interest as well as repetitive patterns of behavior.

Intellectual disability, previously referred to as mental retardation, is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning that occurs during the developmental period. It is defined by an IQ score below 70.

Reduced amount of myelin in the central nervous system resulting from defective myelinogenesis.

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.

The distal interphalangeal joint and/or the proximal interphalangeal joint of the fingers or toes cannot be extended to 180 degrees by either active or passive extension.

The facial appearance is more circular than usual as viewed from the front.

An abnormally increased height of the forehead.

Height of the palate more than 2 SD above the mean (objective) or palatal height at the level of the first permanent molar more than twice the height of the teeth (subjective).

The palpebral fissure inclination is more than two standard deviations below the mean.

Distance between the medial and lateral canthi is more than 2 SD below the mean for age (objective); or, apparently reduced length of the palpebral fissures.

Diminished length of the neck.

Epicanthus is a condition in which a fold of skin stretches from the upper to the lower eyelid, partially covering the inner canthus. Usher (1935) noted that epicanthus is a normal finding in the fetus of all races. Epicanthus also occurs in association with hereditary ptosis (110100).

Facial contours, as viewed from the front, show a broad upper face/cranium and lower face/mandible, creating a square appearance.

Thinned, deficient, or excessively arched ala nasi.

Increased breadth of the nasal bridge (and with it, the nasal root).

More pronounced paramedian peaks and median notch of the Cupid's bow.

Distance between nasal base and midline upper lip vermilion border more than 2 SD below the mean. Alternatively, an apparently decreased distance between nasal base and midline upper lip vermilion border.

A morphological abnormality of the mouth in which the angle of the mouth is downturned. The oral commissures are positioned inferior to the midline labial fissure.

Increased prominence or roundness of soft tissues between zygomata and mandible.

Cleft palate is a developmental defect of the palate resulting from a failure of fusion of the palatine processes and manifesting as a separation of the roof of the mouth (soft and hard palate).

The upper eyelid margin is positioned 3 mm or more lower than usual and covers the superior portion of the iris (objective); or, the upper lid margin obscures at least part of the pupil (subjective).

Duane syndrome is a strabismus condition clinically characterized by congenital non-progressive limited horizontal eye movement accompanied by globe retraction which results in narrowing of the palpebral fissure. The lateral movement anomaly results from failure of the abducens nucleus and nerve (cranial nerve VI) to fully innervate the lateral rectus muscle; globe retraction occurs as a result of abnormal innervation of the lateral rectus muscle by the oculomotor nerve (cranial nerve III). At birth, affected infants have restricted ability to move the affected eye(s) outward (abduction) and/or inward (adduction), though the limitations may not be recognized in early infancy. In addition, the globe retracts into the orbit with attempted adduction, accompanied by narrowing of the palpebral fissure. Many individuals with Duane syndrome have strabismus in primary gaze but can use a compensatory head turn to align the eyes, and thus can preserve binocular vision and avoid diplopia. Individuals with Duane syndrome who lack binocular vision are at risk for amblyopia. The majority of affected individuals with Duane syndrome have isolated Duane syndrome (i.e., they do not have other detected congenital anomalies). Other individuals with Duane syndrome fall into well-defined syndromic diagnoses. However, many individuals with Duane syndrome have non-ocular findings that do not fit a known syndrome; these individuals are included as part of the discussion of nonsyndromic Duane syndrome.

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.

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.

A cataract is an opacity or clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its capsule.

A congenital anomaly in which a part or the whole of the cornea acquires the characteristics of sclera, resulting in clouding of the cornea.

An abnormality of the retina characterized by pigment deposition. It is typically associated with migration and proliferation of macrophages or retinal pigment epithelial cells into the retina; melanin from these cells causes the pigmentary changes. Pigmentary retinopathy is a common final pathway of many retinal conditions and is often associated with visual loss.