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).

Clubfoot is a congenital limb deformity defined as fixation of the foot in cavus, adductus, varus, and equinus (i.e., inclined inwards, axially rotated outwards, and pointing downwards) with concomitant soft tissue abnormalities (Cardy et al., 2007). Clubfoot may occur in isolation or as part of a syndrome (e.g., diastrophic dysplasia, 222600). Clubfoot has been reported with deficiency of long bones and mirror-image polydactyly (Gurnett et al., 2008; Klopocki et al., 2012).

An angulation of a digit at an interphalangeal joint in the plane of the palm (finger) or sole (toe).

Failure of the foramen ovale to seal postnatally, leaving a potential conduit between the left and right cardiac atria.

Critical 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.\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\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\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\nPeople 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.

Median longitudinal ear length greater than two standard deviations above the mean and median ear width greater than two standard deviations above the mean (objective); or, apparent increase in length and width of the pinna (subjective).

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.

Autism, the prototypic pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), is usually apparent by 3 years of age. It is characterized by a triad of limited or absent verbal communication, a lack of reciprocal social interaction or responsiveness, and restricted, stereotypic, and ritualized patterns of interests and behavior (Bailey et al., 1996; Risch et al., 1999). 'Autism spectrum disorder,' sometimes referred to as ASD, is a broader phenotype encompassing the less severe disorders Asperger syndrome (see ASPG1; 608638) and pervasive developmental disorder, not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). 'Broad autism phenotype' includes individuals with some symptoms of autism, but who do not meet the full criteria for autism or other disorders. Mental retardation coexists in approximately two-thirds of individuals with ASD, except for Asperger syndrome, in which mental retardation is conspicuously absent (Jones et al., 2008). Genetic studies in autism often include family members with these less stringent diagnoses (Schellenberg et al., 2006). Levy et al. (2009) provided a general review of autism and autism spectrum disorder, including epidemiology, characteristics of the disorder, diagnosis, neurobiologic hypotheses for the etiology, genetics, and treatment options. Genetic Heterogeneity of Autism Autism is considered to be a complex multifactorial disorder involving many genes. Accordingly, several loci have been identified, some or all of which may contribute to the phenotype. Included in this entry is AUTS1, which has been mapped to chromosome 7q22. Other susceptibility loci include AUTS3 (608049), which maps to chromosome 13q14; AUTS4 (608636), which maps to chromosome 15q11; AUTS6 (609378), which maps to chromosome 17q11; AUTS7 (610676), which maps to chromosome 17q21; AUTS8 (607373), which maps to chromosome 3q25-q27; AUTS9 (611015), which maps to chromosome 7q31; AUTS10 (611016), which maps to chromosome 7q36; AUTS11 (610836), which maps to chromosome 1q41; AUTS12 (610838), which maps to chromosome 21p13-q11; AUTS13 (610908), which maps to chromosome 12q14; AUTS14A (611913), which has been found in patients with a deletion of a region of 16p11.2; AUTS14B (614671), which has been found in patients with a duplication of a region of 16p11.2; AUTS15 (612100), associated with mutation in the CNTNAP2 gene (604569) on chromosome 7q35-q36; AUTS16 (613410), associated with mutation in the SLC9A9 gene (608396) on chromosome 3q24; AUTS17 (613436), associated with mutation in the SHANK2 gene (603290) on chromosome 11q13; AUTS18 (615032), associated with mutation in the CHD8 gene (610528) on chromosome 14q11; AUTS19 (615091), associated with mutation in the EIF4E gene (133440) on chromosome 4q23; and AUTS20 (618830), associated with mutation in the NLGN1 gene (600568) on chromosome 3q26. (NOTE: the symbol 'AUTS2' has been used to refer to a gene on chromosome 7q11 (KIAA0442; 607270) and therefore is not used as a part of this autism locus series.) There are several X-linked forms of autism susceptibility: AUTSX1 (300425), associated with mutations in the NLGN3 gene (300336); AUTSX2 (300495), associated with mutations in NLGN4 (300427); AUTSX3 (300496), associated with mutations in MECP2 (300005); AUTSX4 (300830), associated with variation in the region on chromosome Xp22.11 containing the PTCHD1 gene (300828); AUTSX5 (300847), associated with mutations in the RPL10 gene (312173); and AUTSX6 (300872), associated with mutation in the TMLHE gene (300777). A locus on chromosome 2q (606053) associated with a phenotype including intellectual disability and speech deficits was formerly designated AUTS5. Folstein and Rosen-Sheidley (2001) reviewed the genetics of autism.

Cerebellar ataxia refers to ataxia due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. This causes a variety of elementary neurological deficits including asynergy (lack of coordination between muscles, limbs and joints), dysmetria (lack of ability to judge distances that can lead to under- or overshoot in grasping movements), and dysdiadochokinesia (inability to perform rapid movements requiring antagonizing muscle groups to be switched on and off repeatedly).

Dysarthric speech is a general description referring to a neurological speech disorder characterized by poor articulation. Depending on the involved neurological structures, dysarthria may be further classified as spastic, flaccid, ataxic, hyperkinetic and hypokinetic, or mixed.

Moderate mental retardation is defined as an intelligence quotient (IQ) in the range of 35-49.

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 type of Developmental delay characterized by a delay in acquiring motor skills.

Bilateral bulging of the lateral frontal bone prominences with relative sparing of the midline.

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.

Asymmetric head shape, which is usually a combination of unilateral occipital flattening with ipsilateral frontal prominence, leading to rhomboid cranial shape.

Generalized muscular hypotonia (abnormally low muscle tone).

Increased susceptibility to infections.

Increased length and width of the tongue.

Distance between the oral commissures more than 2 SD above the mean. Alternatively, an apparently increased width of the oral aperture (subjective).

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

A facial appearance characterized by a permanently or nearly permanently opened mouth.

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

The palpebral fissure inclination is more than two standard deviations above the mean for age (objective); or, the inclination of the palpebral fissure is greater than typical for age.

Diminished length of the neck.

Facial contour, as viewed from the front, triangular in shape, with breadth at the temples and tapering to a narrow chin.

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

Forward prominence of the entire forehead, due to protrusion of the frontal bone.

Width of the forehead or distance between the frontotemporales is more than two standard deviations below the mean (objective); or apparently narrow intertemporal region (subjective).

An abnormal configuration of the lower lip such that it is turned outward i.e., everted, with the Inner aspect of the lower lip vermilion (normally opposing the teeth) being visible in a frontal view.

Coloboma is an eye abnormality that occurs before birth. Colobomas are missing pieces of tissue in structures that form the eye. They may appear as notches or gaps in one of several parts of the eye, including 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 the optic nerves, which carry information from the eyes to the brain.\n\nColobomas may be present in one or both eyes and, depending on their size and location, can affect a person's vision. Colobomas affecting the iris, which result in a "keyhole" appearance of the pupil, generally do not lead to vision loss. Colobomas involving the retina result in vision loss in specific parts of the visual field. Large retinal colobomas or those affecting the optic nerve can cause low vision, which means vision loss that cannot be completely corrected with glasses or contact lenses.\n\nSome people with coloboma also have a condition called microphthalmia. 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 coloboma may also have other eye abnormalities, including clouding of the lens of the eye (cataract), increased pressure inside the eye (glaucoma) that can damage the optic nerve, vision problems such as nearsightedness (myopia), involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus), or separation of the retina from the back of the eye (retinal detachment).\n\nColobomas involving the eyeball should be distinguished from gaps that occur in the eyelids. While these eyelid gaps are also called colobomas, they arise from abnormalities in different structures during early development.\n\nSome individuals have coloboma as part of a syndrome that affects other organs and tissues in the body. These forms of the condition are described as syndromic. When coloboma occurs by itself, it is described as nonsyndromic or isolated.

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.