Definition: Microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder in which the head is much smaller than average for the person's age and gender. Microcephaly may be congenital (present at birth) or it may develop in the first few years of life. The skull and brain do not grow at a normal rate, which causes a smaller-than-normal head.
Microcephaly is present in certain genetic disorders and syndromes such as
- Cornelia de Lange syndrome
- Cri-du-chat syndrome
- Down syndrome (Trisomy 21)
- Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome
- Seckel syndrome
- Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome
- Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome)
- Trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome)
Source:
"Microcephaly." MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. 9 Nov 2007. U.S. National Library of Medicine. 29 Nov 2008
Pronunciation: my-kro-SEF-a-lee
