Dwarfism

1
Dwarfism

• By Leif Galstad

2
What is it?

• Dwarfism is known medically as skeletal
  dysplasia. The most common type of dwarfism is
  achondroplasia. It is defined as a syndrome with
  growth retardation, skeletal dysplasia and brain
  abnormalities. It is evident at time of birth or
  before, occurring about once in every 25,000
  births. It affects all races, cultures and
  ethnicities equally, dating back to the time of
  the Ancient Egyptians.

3
DNA?

• Achondroplasia is caused by a mutated gene
  located in the 4th chromosome. It is most easily
  inherited if both parents have the disorder, but
  can also be inherited by to normal looking
  parents. If both parents have dwarfism, the
  child has a 50 chance of inheriting the
  disorder.

4
What does the disorder look like?

• People with achondroplasia are usually about 4
  feet tall when fully grown. They have
  disproportionably short arms and legs.
  Generally, the head is large, and the forehead is
  prominent, sometimes requiring surgery to
  correct.

5
What causes Dwarfism?

• During the fetal stage, you have cartilage that
  turns into bone in many places around the body.
  If a person has achondroplasia, the rate of
  cartilage turning into bone in the longer bones
  such as arms and legs, is slow, causing shorter
  limbs and smaller height.

6
Bibliography

• http//www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046
  /j.1442-200X.2001.01416.x/full/
• http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd
  RetrievedbPubMedlist_uids12571786doptAbstrac
  t
• http//www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1204
  .asp