Print friendly version
Thanatophoric dysplasia
See Disclaimer regarding information on this site. Some links on this page may take you to organizations outside of the National Institutes of Health.
Overview
Thanatophoric dysplasia is a severe skeletal disorder characterized by extremely short limbs and folds of extra skin on the arms and legs. Other features of this condition include a narrow chest, short ribs, underdeveloped lungs, and an enlarged head with a large forehead and prominent, wide-spaced eyes. Most infants with thanatophoric dysplasia are stillborn or die shortly after birth from respiratory failure. A few affected individuals have survived into childhood with extensive medical help. Thanatophoric dysplasia is caused by mutations in the FGFR3 gene. While this condition is considered to be autosomal dominant, virtually all cases have occurred in people with no history of the disorder in their family.[1]
Two major forms of thanatophoric dysplasia have been described, type I and type II. Type I thanatophoric dysplasia is distinguished by the presence of curved thigh bones and flattened bones of the spine (platyspondyly). Type II thanatophoric dysplasia is characterized by straight thigh bones and a moderate to severe skull abnormality called a cloverleaf skull.[1]
References
- Thanatophoric dysplasia. Genetics Home Reference (GHR). http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/thanatophoric-dysplasia. Accessed December 13, 2012.
Your Questions Answered
by the Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center1 question(s) from the public on Thanatophoric dysplasia have been answered. See questions and answers. You can also submit a new question.
On this page
General Information
- Genetics Home Reference (GHR) contains information on Thanatophoric dysplasia. Click on the link to go to GHR and review the information.
- Medscape Reference provides information on this topic. Click on the link to view this information. You may need to register to view the medical textbook, but registration is free.
- Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge. Click on the link to read information on this topic.
- PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Thanatophoric dysplasia. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.
- The The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database contains genetics resources that discuss Thanatophoric dysplasia. Click on the link to go to OMIM and review these resources.