Written by the authors of the renowned embryology textbooks The Developing Human and Before We Are Born, Concise Clinical Embryology: An Integrated, Case-Based Approach offers essential, high-yield information and high-quality clinical cases to illustrate key principles of embryology and their relevance to everyday practice. Ideally tailored to the needs of today's medical students and medical courses, this concise text clearly explains how embryology relates to other medical disciplines and its importance in safe, effective clinical practice. Abundant illustrations throughout help you grasp highly visual concepts quickly and easily. Provides easily digestible, clinically oriented coverage of human development, establishing key principles in a week-by-week, stage-by-stage approach, before moving on to fetal organ development by body system. Includes clinical cases and follow-up questions in each chapter that help relate key principles to everyday practice, aid in problem-based learning, and offer review for exam preparation. Covers the latest advances in embryology, including normal and abnormal embryogenesis, causes of birth defects, and the role of genes in human development. Contains superb illustrations from cover to cover, including diagnostic images, full color figures, histology, and more. Summarizes molecular biology highlights throughout the text. Enhanced eBook version included with purchase. Your enhanced eBook allows you to access 18 3D animations with expert commentary, plus all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

Birth defects have assumed an importance even greater now than in the past because infant mortality rates attributed to congenital anomalies have declined far less than those for other causes of death, such as infectious and nutritional diseases. As many as 50 % of all pregnancies terminate as miscarriages, and in the majority of cases this is the result of faulty intrauterine development. Major congenital malformations are present in at least 2 % of all liveborn infants, and 22 % of all sti1Ibirths and infant deaths are associated with severe congenital anomalies. Not surprisingly, there has been a great proliferation of research into the problems of developmental abnormalities over the past few decades. This series, Advances in the Study of Birth Defects, was conceived in order to provide a comprehensive focal source of up-to-date information for physi cians concerned with the health of the unborn child and for research workers in the fields of fetal medicine and birth defects. The first four volumes featured recent experimental work on selected areas of high priority and intensive investigation, including mechanisms of teratogenesis, teratological evaluation, molecular and cellular aspects of abnormal development, and neural and behavioural teratology. It seems logical and timely that the clinical aspects should now be presented. Accordingly, leading experts were invited to review a broad range of common problems from the standpoint of embryology, aetiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management. This volume deals with cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary malformations."

The study of birth defects has assumed an importance even greater now than in the past because mortality rates attributed to congenital anomalies have declined far less than those for other causes of death, such as infectious and nutritional diseases. It is estimated that as many as 50% of all pregnancies terminate as miscarriages. In the majority of cases this is the result of faulty development. Major congenital malformations are found in at least 2% of all liveborn infants, and 22% of all stillbirths and infant deaths are associated with severe congenital anomalies. Teratological studies of an experimental nature are neither ethical nor justifiable in humans. Numerous investigations have been carried out in laboratory animals and other experimental models in order to improve our understanding of abnormal intra-uterine development. In less than two decades the field of experimental teratology has advanced phenomenally. As a result of the wide range of information that is now accumulating, it has become possible to obtain an insight into the causes, mechanisms and prevention of birth defects. However, considerable work will be needed before these problems can be resolved. This book brings together some of the more recent and important research findings related to the mechanisms and pathogenesis of abnormal develop ment. It is not only a documentation of the latest experimental work, but it also points out future directions that seem productive and challenging."

The study of birth defects has assumed an importance even greater now than in the past because mortality rates attributed to congenital anomalies have declined far less than those for other causes of death, such as infectious and nutritional diseases. It is estimated that as many as 50% of all pregnancies terminate as miscarriages. In the majority of cases this is the result of faulty development. Major congenital malformations are found in at least 2% of all liveborn infants, and 22% of all stillbirths and infant deaths are associated with severe congenital anomalies. Teratological studies of an experimental nature are neither ethical nor justifiable in humans. Numerous investigations have been carried out in laboratory animals and other experimental models in order to improve our understanding of abnormal intra-uterine development. In less than two decades the field of experimental teratology has advanced phenomenally. As a result of the wide range of information that is now accumulating, it has become possible to obtain an insight into the causes, mec.;hanisms and prevention of birth defects. However, considerable work will be needed before these problems can be resolved. The. contributions in this volume deal primarily with the areas of terato logical evaluation and the use of selected animal models for the study of con genital anomalies. It is not only a documentation of the latest experimental work, but it also indicates new and important areas for future research."

The study of birth defects has assumed an importance even greater now than in the past because mortality rates attributed to congenital anomalies have declined far less than those for other causes of death, such as infectious and nutritional diseases. It is estimated that as many as 50% of all pregnancies terminate as miscarriages. In the majority of cases this is the result of faulty development. Major congenital malformations are found in at least 2% of all liveborn infants, and 22% of all stillbirths and infant deaths are associated with severe congenital anomalies. Teratological studies of an experimental nature are neither ethical nor justifiable in humans. Numerous investigations have been carried out in laboratory animals and other experimental models in order to improve our understanding of abnormal intrauterine development. In less than two decades the field of experimental teratology has advanced phenomenally. As a result of the wide range of information that is now accumulating, it has become possible to obtain an insight into the causes, mechanisms, and prevention of birth defects. However, considerable work will be needed before these problems can be resolved. The comributions in this volume include some of the more recent and exciting observations on the cellular and molecular aspects of developmental defects. It is not only a documentation of the latest experimental work, but it also indicates new and important areas for future research.

Birth defects have assumed an importance even greater now than in the past because infant mortality rates attributed to congenital anomalies have declined far less than those for other causes of death, such as infectious and nutritional diseases. As many as 50 % of all pregnancies terminate as miscarriages, and in the majority of cases this is the result of faulty intrauterine development. Major congenital malformations are present in at least 2 % of all liveborn infants, and 22 % of all stillbirths and infant deaths are associated with severe congenital anomalies. Not surprisingly, there has been a great proliferation of research into the problems of developmental abnormalities over the past few decades. This series, Advances in the Study of Birth Defects, was conceived in order to provide a comprehensive focal source of up-to-date information for physi cians concerned with the health of the unborn child and for research workers in the fields of fetal medicine and birth defects. The first four volumes featured recent experimental work on selected areas of high priority and intensive investigation, including mechanisms of teratogenesis, teratological evaluation, molecular and cellular aspects of abnormal development, and neural and behavioural teratology. It seems logical and timely that the clinical aspects should now be presented. Accordingly, leading experts were invited to review a broad range of common problems from the standpoint of embryology, aetiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis and management. This volume deals with genetic disorders and prenatal diagnosis."

Surprisingly, the beginning of a modern approach This collection of articles and commentaries is an to the problems of birth defects is relatively recent integration of information from many disciplines, and dates from Gregg's classical report in 1941 that and presents a comprehensive survey of both recent mothers who contracted rubella during the first tri and previously reported work related to the major mester of pregnancy gave birth to infants with severe aspects of birth defects. In particular, an attempt multiple anomalies. For the first time, an environ has been made to provide a critical assessment of mental agent was found to be teratogenic in man current concepts and to identify areas in need of and was documented in a thoroughly convincing further investigation. manner. Since then, many important discoveries The scope of this volume and space limitations and significant developments have been made, par precluded discussion of and reference to all papers ticularly in the areas of environmental teratogenesis, of relevance or importance: a work of the present hereditary mechanisms, and prenatal diagnosis. nature must necessarily be selective. Some good In recent years, there has been an impressive papers have been left out or given relatively little surge of interest in the causes and prevention of consideration. It is my hope that the list of Further birth defects. Undoubtedly this resulted not only References will be consulted and should compensate from the thalidomide tragedy, but also from the for this lack of completeness."