Abstract

A male child with tetra-amelia, hypotrichosis, upward slanting palpebral fissures, lack of lacrimal openings, hypoplastic lacrimal ducts and sacs opening towards the exterior, prominent and bulbous nose, large downturned mouth, high narrow palate, bilateral preauricular pits, sacral dimple, bilateral undescended testes, and developmental retardation is reported. The parents were second cousins. His karyotype on cultured blood lymphocytes was normal. Since the next fetus conceived by the mother was found on prenatal ultrasonography to have no limbs, abortion was induced. The face of the abortus closely resembled that of the proband. It is postulated that this malformation syndrome was due to the homozygous state of a rare autosomal recessive mutation.