Apert syndrome

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Apert syndrome is a form of acrocephalosyndactyly, a congenital disorder characterized by malformations of the skull, face, hands and feet. It is classified as a branchial arch syndrome, affecting the first branchial (or pharyngeal) arch, the precursor of the maxilla and mandible. Disturbances in the development of the branchial arches in fetal development create lasting and widespread effects. In 1906, Eugène Apert, a French physician, described nine people sharing similar attributes and characteristics. Linguistically, in the term "acrocephalosyndactyly", acro is Greek for "peak", referring to the "peaked" head that is common in the syndrome; cephalo, also from Greek, is a combining form meaning "head"; syndactyly refers to webbing of fingers and toes. In embryology, the hands and feet have selective cells that die in a process called selective cell death, or apoptosis, causing separation of the digits. In the case of acrocephalosyndactyly, selective cell death does not occur and skin...

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