In view of the great number of teratogenic factors known and the vast array of congenital defects, disorders and syndromes, it would probably be a waste of time to search for unifying mechanisms and principles in abnormal development. Instead, therefore, I shall describe a selection of teratogens and their consequences, and try to arrange them in a certain hierarchy based on a simplified model ...

Nitrofen (2,4-dichloro-4'-nitrodiphenyl ether) is an herbicide with potent teratogenic activity in rats. When administered at doses as low as 0.15 mg/kg/day during organogenesis, abnormal development of the heart, kidneys, diaphragm, and lung occurs. The specific pattern of visceral malformations produced in the absence of overt maternal toxicity or embryolethality/cytotoxicity suggest that the...

retinoic acid (ra) plays a key role in pattern formation along the major body axis and limbformation during vertebrate development. exposure to excessive retinoic acid (in uterus) generatescongenital malformations in limbs, craniofacial, cns, urogenital, heart, and axial skeletons. in thesestudies, seven groups of nmri pregnant mice were administered a single gavage dose of 100 mg /kgbody weigh...

Rubella virus (RV) is the causative agent of the disease known more popularly as German measles. Rubella is predominantly a childhood disease and is endemic throughout the world. Natural infections of rubella occur only in humans and are generally mild. Complications of rubella infection, most commonly polyarthralgia in adult women, do exist; occasionally more serious sequelae occur. However, t...

This review has covered the pertinent literature concerning the teratogenic effects of hyperthermia in man and experimental animals. This is the first teratogen that was initially discovered in animals and then subsequently found to be a cause for concern in humans when similar patterns of defects were observed. Hyperthermia is a physical agent with a dose-response curve for abortions and malfo...

About 30 years ago, Norbert Freinkel and Boyd Metzger introduced a seminal hypothesis into developmental medicine and diabetes research. The fuel-mediated teratogenesis concept says that prenatal exposure to increased levels of “mixed nutrients,” especially increased glucose, and the corresponding increase in fetal insulin have immediate as well as long-lasting deleterious consequences for the ...