Cryptorchidism, or failure of testicular descent, is a common human congenital abnormality with a multifactorial etiology that likely reflects the involvement of endocrine, environmental, and hereditary factors. Cryptorchidism can result in infertility and increases risk for testicular tumors. Testicular descent from abdomen to scrotum occurs in 2 distinct phases: the transabdominal phase and the inguinoscrotal phase (summary by Gorlov et al., 2002).

Midline indentation or cleft of the scrotum.

Abnormal position of urethral meatus on the ventral penile shaft (underside) characterized by displacement of the urethral meatus from the tip of the glans penis to the ventral surface of the penis, scrotum, or perineum.

Congenital vertical talus (CVT), also known as 'rocker-bottom foot' deformity, is a dislocation of the talonavicular joint characterized by vertical orientation of the talus with a rigid dorsal dislocation of the navicular, equinus deformity of the calcaneus, abduction deformity of the forefoot, and contracture of the soft tissues of the hind- and mid-foot. This condition is usually associated with multiple other congenital deformities and only rarely is an isolated deformity with familial occurrence (summary by Levinsohn et al., 2004). The condition is transmitted in an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance, and sometimes shows incomplete penetrance and variable expressivity. There may be a broad spectrum of deformities, including flatfoot, talipes equinovarus (TEV or clubfoot), cavus foot, metatarsus adductus, and even hypoplasia of the tibia (summary by Dobbs et al., 2006).

A soft tissue continuity in the A/P axis between two fingers that extends distally to at least the level of the proximal interphalangeal joints, or a soft tissue continuity in the A/P axis between two fingers that lies significantly distal to the flexion crease that overlies the metacarpophalangeal joint of the adjacent fingers.

Upper insertion of the ear to the scalp below an imaginary horizontal line drawn between the inner canthi of the eye and extending posteriorly to the ear.

A type of abnormal location of the ears in which the position of the ears is characterized by posterior rotation (the superior part of the ears is rotated towards the back of the head, and the inferior part of the ears towards the front).

A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.

Intellectual disability, previously referred to as mental retardation, is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning that occurs during the developmental period. It is defined by an IQ score below 70.

Developmental hypoplasia of the mandible.

An abnormality of skull shape characterized by a decreased anterior-posterior diameter. That is, a cephalic index greater than 81%. Alternatively, an apparently shortened anteroposterior dimension (length) of the head compared to width.

In newborns, the two frontal bones, two parietal bones, and one occipital bone are joined by fibrous sutures, which form a small posterior fontanelle, and a larger, diamond-shaped anterior fontanelle. These regions allow for the skull to pass the birth canal and for later growth. The fontanelles gradually ossify, whereby the posterior fontanelle usually closes by eight weeks and the anterior fontanelle by the 9th to 16th month of age. Large fontanelles are diagnosed if the fontanelles are larger than age-dependent norms.

A defect of the chest wall characterized by a depression of the sternum, giving the chest ("pectus") a caved-in ("excavatum") appearance.

Pterygium colli is a congenital skin fold that runs along the sides of the neck down to the shoulders. It involves an ectopic fibrotic facial band superficial to the trapezius muscle. Excess hair-bearing skin is also present and extends down the cervical region well beyond the normal hairline.

The palpebral fissure inclination is more than two standard deviations below the mean.

Cleft of the soft palate (also known as the velum, or muscular palate) as a result of a developmental defect occurring between the 7th and 12th week of pregnancy. Cleft soft palate can cause functional abnormalities of the Eustachian tube with resulting middle ear anomalies and hearing difficulties, as well as speech problems associated with hypernasal speech due to velopharyngeal insufficiency.

Facial contour, as viewed from the front, triangular in shape, with breadth at the temples and tapering to a narrow chin.

The upper eyelid margin is positioned 3 mm or more lower than usual and covers the superior portion of the iris (objective); or, the upper lid margin obscures at least part of the pupil (subjective).

Coloboma is an eye abnormality that occurs before birth. Colobomas are missing pieces of tissue in structures that form the eye. They may appear as notches or gaps in one of several parts of the eye, including the colored part of the eye called the iris; the retina, which is the specialized light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye; the blood vessel layer under the retina called the choroid; or the optic nerves, which carry information from the eyes to the brain.\n\nColobomas may be present in one or both eyes and, depending on their size and location, can affect a person's vision. Colobomas affecting the iris, which result in a "keyhole" appearance of the pupil, generally do not lead to vision loss. Colobomas involving the retina result in vision loss in specific parts of the visual field. Large retinal colobomas or those affecting the optic nerve can cause low vision, which means vision loss that cannot be completely corrected with glasses or contact lenses.\n\nSome people with coloboma also have a condition called microphthalmia. In this condition, one or both eyeballs are abnormally small. In some affected individuals, the eyeball may appear to be completely missing; however, even in these cases some remaining eye tissue is generally present. Such severe microphthalmia should be distinguished from another condition called anophthalmia, in which no eyeball forms at all. However, the terms anophthalmia and severe microphthalmia are often used interchangeably. Microphthalmia may or may not result in significant vision loss.\n\nPeople with coloboma may also have other eye abnormalities, including clouding of the lens of the eye (cataract), increased pressure inside the eye (glaucoma) that can damage the optic nerve, vision problems such as nearsightedness (myopia), involuntary back-and-forth eye movements (nystagmus), or separation of the retina from the back of the eye (retinal detachment).\n\nSome individuals have coloboma as part of a syndrome that affects other organs and tissues in the body. These forms of the condition are described as syndromic. When coloboma occurs by itself, it is described as nonsyndromic or isolated.\n\nColobomas involving the eyeball should be distinguished from gaps that occur in the eyelids. While these eyelid gaps are also called colobomas, they arise from abnormalities in different structures during early development.

Although hypertelorism means an excessive distance between any paired organs (e.g., the nipples), the use of the word has come to be confined to ocular hypertelorism. Hypertelorism occurs as an isolated feature and is also a feature of many syndromes, e.g., Opitz G syndrome (see 300000), Greig cephalopolysyndactyly (175700), and Noonan syndrome (163950) (summary by Cohen et al., 1995).