Aetiological Factors in Congenital Abnormalities

Abstract

The problem of congenital abnormalities has been with us for many years. The surviving records of some of the oldest civilisations depict cases of congenital malformations. Achondroplasia is found in Egyptian paintings over 5,000 years old and the god Phtah revered at Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt, is without doubt one of these cases. Club foot and cleft palate have also been detected in records and mummies of the Egyptian era.

In other ancient civilisations, abnormalities have also been recorded. Prehistoric Peruvian pottery has been found to depict hare-lip and other malformations. Greek mythology included many instances of monsters which presumably have their origin in abnormalities. However, not all references to monsters by the Greeks were confined to mythology. Aristotle describes a monstrosity as contrary to the most usual course of nature. This is probably the earliest reference to someone thinking that congenital abnormalities are due to the unusual development of a normal process.