[The main etiologic groups of congenital developmental defects and the problems of diagnosis and thanatogenesis]

The proportion of congenital developmental defects (CDD) in children decreased in perinatal or early age is increasing. According to national and foreign data this figure is in the range of 21-41%. The etiologic structure of CDD for the last 5 years (1980-1984) basing on the data from the Minsk Teratologic Center has not practically changed. As in the previous 5 years, 50.8% of CDD belong to multifactorial ones, 14.3% are due to single gene mutations (8.4% of them are inherited according to dominant type and 5.9%--according to recessive type). Chromosome and gene mutations caused 7.9% of CDD. About 2% of CDD are induced by the effect of environmental factors on the embryo (less frequently on the fetus). Etiology of 25.1% of CDD is not clear.