Skin: a window to dysmorphic syndromes

The term “dysmorphology” was coined by Smith (1926-1981), a pediatrician, in the 1960 s to describe the study of human congenital malformations, particularly those affecting the morphology (the anatomy) of the individual. Dysmorphology literally means, the study of abnormal form. Today as a scientific discipline, dysmorphology combines concepts, knowledge, and techniques from the fields of embryology, clinical genetics and pediatrics and deals with people having congenital abnormalities and their families