[PDF][PDF] Genetic disorders of the skeleton: a developmental approach

U Kornak, S Mundlos - The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2003 - cell.com
The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2003cell.com
Although disorders of the skeleton are individually rare, they are of clinical relevance
because of their overall frequency. Many attempts have been made in the past to identify
disease groups in order to facilitate diagnosis and to draw conclusions about possible
underlying pathomechanisms. Traditionally, skeletal disorders have been subdivided into
dysostoses, defined as malformations of individual bones or groups of bones, and
osteochondrodysplasias, defined as developmental disorders of chondro-osseous tissue. In …
Although disorders of the skeleton are individually rare, they are of clinical relevance because of their overall frequency. Many attempts have been made in the past to identify disease groups in order to facilitate diagnosis and to draw conclusions about possible underlying pathomechanisms. Traditionally, skeletal disorders have been subdivided into dysostoses, defined as malformations of individual bones or groups of bones, and osteochondrodysplasias, defined as developmental disorders of chondro-osseous tissue. In light of the recent advances in molecular genetics, however, many phenotypically similar skeletal diseases comprising the classical categories turned out not to be based on defects in common genes or physiological pathways. In this article, we present a classification based on a combination of molecular pathology and embryology, taking into account the importance of development for the understanding of bone diseases.
cell.com