Aplasia of the trachea in a malformed human foetus with single umbilical artery

Aplasia of the trachea associated with multiple congenital anomalies is described in a stillborn male foetus with single umbilical artery. The tracheal anomaly conformed to the usual anatomic pattern consisting of absence of the trachea from the cricoid to slightly above the main stem bronchi where lay a fistula with the oesophagus. The larynx was normal externally but had a deformed cricoid and a narrow, blind lumen. The single umbilical artery was possibly responsible for causing the cardiovascular and tracheo-oesophageal anomalies by disturbing the haemodynamics, and the remaining caudal defects of the body by replacing the abdominal aorta below the origin of the inferior mesenteric artery.