Dysmelia

WikiDoc Resources for Dysmelia
Articles
Most recent articles on Dysmelia Most cited articles on Dysmelia Review articles on Dysmelia Articles on Dysmelia in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Dysmelia Images of Dysmelia Photos of Dysmelia Podcasts & MP3s on Dysmelia Videos on Dysmelia
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Dysmelia Bandolier on Dysmelia TRIP on Dysmelia
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Dysmelia at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Dysmelia Clinical Trials on Dysmelia at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Dysmelia NICE Guidance on Dysmelia NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Dysmelia CDC on Dysmelia
Books
Books on Dysmelia
News
Dysmelia in the news Be alerted to news on Dysmelia News trends on Dysmelia
Commentary
Blogs on Dysmelia
Definitions
Definitions of Dysmelia
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Dysmelia Discussion groups on Dysmelia Patient Handouts on Dysmelia Directions to Hospitals Treating Dysmelia Risk calculators and risk factors for Dysmelia
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Dysmelia Causes & Risk Factors for Dysmelia Diagnostic studies for Dysmelia Treatment of Dysmelia
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Dysmelia
International
Dysmelia en Espanol Dysmelia en Francais
Business
Dysmelia in the Marketplace Patents on Dysmelia
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Dysmelia

Dysmelia (from Greek Δύσ - = "bad" plus μέλος (plural μέλεα) = "limb") is a congenital disorder referring to the limbs. Dysmelia can refer to

• missing (aplasia) limbs: amelia, oligodactyly, congenital amputation
• malformation of limbs: ectrodactyly, phocomelia, syndactyly, brachydactyly, clubfoot
• too many limbs: polymelia, polydactyly, polysyndactyly

Occurrence rate

Birth defects involving limbs occur in 1 per 1000.

Causes

Dysmelia can be caused by

• inheritance of abnormal genes, e.g. polydactyly, ectrodactyly or brachydactyly, symptoms of deformed limbs then often occur in combination with other symptoms (syndromes)
• external causes during pregnancy (thus not inherited), e.g. via amniotic band syndrome
• teratogenic drugs (e.g. thalidomide, which causes phocomelia) or environmental chemicals
• ionizing radiation (atomic weapons, radioiodine, radiation therapy)
• infections
• metabolic imbalance