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).

Severe distention of the kidney with dilation of the renal pelvis and calices.

The presence of any abnormality of the genitourinary system.

Clinodactyly refers to a bending or curvature of the fifth finger in the radial direction (i.e., towards the 4th finger).

Double outlet right ventricle (DORV) is a type of ventriculoarterial connection in which both great vessels arise entirely or predominantly from the right ventricle.

In utero, the ductus arteriosus (DA) serves to divert ventricular output away from the lungs and toward the placenta by connecting the main pulmonary artery to the descending aorta. A patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in the first 3 days of life is a physiologic shunt in healthy term and preterm newborn infants, and normally is substantially closed within about 24 hours after bith and completely closed after about three weeks. Failure of physiologcal closure is referred to a persistent or patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). Depending on the degree of left-to-right shunting, PDA can have clinical consequences.

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital abnormality of the interatrial septum that enables blood flow between the left and right atria via the interatrial septum.

A hole between the two bottom chambers (ventricles) of the heart. The defect is centered around the most superior aspect of the ventricular septum.

People with CCHD have one or more specific heart defects. The heart defects classified as CCHD include coarctation of the aorta, double-outlet right ventricle, D-transposition of the great arteries, Ebstein anomaly, hypoplastic left heart syndrome, interrupted aortic arch, pulmonary atresia with intact septum, single ventricle, total anomalous pulmonary venous connection, tetralogy of Fallot, tricuspid atresia, and truncus arteriosus.\n\nEach of the heart defects associated with CCHD affects the flow of blood into, out of, or through the heart. Some of the heart defects involve structures within the heart itself, such as the two lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles) or the valves that control blood flow through the heart. Others affect the structure of the large blood vessels leading into and out of the heart (including the aorta and pulmonary artery). Still others involve a combination of these structural abnormalities.\n\nSome people with treated CCHD have few related health problems later in life. However, long-term effects of CCHD can include delayed development and reduced stamina during exercise. Adults with these heart defects have an increased risk of abnormal heart rhythms, heart failure, sudden cardiac arrest, stroke, and premature death.\n\nAlthough babies with CCHD may appear healthy for the first few hours or days of life, signs and symptoms soon become apparent. These can include an abnormal heart sound during a heartbeat (heart murmur), rapid breathing (tachypnea), low blood pressure (hypotension), low levels of oxygen in the blood (hypoxemia), and a blue or purple tint to the skin caused by a shortage of oxygen (cyanosis). If untreated, CCHD can lead to shock, coma, and death. However, most people with CCHD now survive past infancy due to improvements in early detection, diagnosis, and treatment.\n\nCritical congenital heart disease (CCHD) is a term that refers to a group of serious heart defects that are present from birth. These abnormalities result from problems with the formation of one or more parts of the heart during the early stages of embryonic development. CCHD prevents the heart from pumping blood effectively or reduces the amount of oxygen in the blood. As a result, organs and tissues throughout the body do not receive enough oxygen, which can lead to organ damage and life-threatening complications. Individuals with CCHD usually require surgery soon after birth.

A narrowing of the right ventricular outflow tract that can occur at the pulmonary valve (valvular stenosis), below the pulmonary valve (infundibular stenosis), or above the pulmonary valve (supravalvar stenosis).

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

Slow or limited growth after birth.

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.

A type of abnormal location of the ears in which the position of the ears is characterized by posterior rotation (the superior part of the ears is rotated towards the back of the head, and the inferior part of the ears towards the front).

A decreased magnitude of the sensory perception of sound.

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.

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.

An increase in size of the ventricular system of the brain.

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.

Delayed myelination in the central nervous system.

Developmental hypoplasia of the mandible.

A condition in which there is increased muscle tone so that arms or legs, for example, are stiff and difficult to move.

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 presence of an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.

Contractures of one ore more joints of the hands meaning chronic loss of joint motion due to structural changes in non-bony tissue.

An abnormality of skull shape characterized by a decreased anterior-posterior diameter. That is, a cephalic index greater than 81%. Alternatively, an apparently shortened anteroposterior dimension (length) of the head compared to width.

Head circumference which falls below 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender because of insufficient head growth after birth.

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.

Underdevelopment of the malar prominence of the jugal bone (zygomatic bone in mammals), appreciated in profile, frontal view, and/or by palpation.

Generalized muscular hypotonia (abnormally low muscle tone).

A defect of the chest wall characterized by a depression of the sternum, giving the chest ("pectus") a caved-in ("excavatum") appearance.

Any abnormality of the teeth.

Hyperplasia of the gingiva (that is, a thickening of the soft tissue overlying the alveolar ridge. The degree of thickening ranges from involvement of the interdental papillae alone to gingival overgrowth covering the entire tooth crown.

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

Increased thickness of the lower lip, leading to a prominent appearance of the lower lip. The height of the vermilion of the lower lip in the midline is more than 2 SD above the mean. Alternatively, an apparently increased height of the vermilion of the lower lip in the frontal view (subjective).

Anteriorly-facing nostrils viewed with the head in the Frankfurt horizontal and the eyes of the observer level with the eyes of the subject. This gives the appearance of an upturned nose (upturned nasal tip).

Posterior positions and/or vertical shortening of the infraorbital and perialar regions, or increased concavity of the face and/or reduced nasolabial angle.

Hair on the neck extends more inferiorly than usual.

Skin crease extending from below the inner canthus laterally along the malar process of the maxilla and zygoma.

Bizygomatic (upper face) and bigonial (lower face) width greater than 2 standard deviations above the mean (objective); or an apparent increase in the width of the face (subjective).

Height of the vermilion of the upper lip in the midline more than 2 SD below the mean. Alternatively, an apparently reduced height of the vermilion of the upper lip in the frontal view (subjective).

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.

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).

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.