[The primary observation of congenital clubfoot].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the possible correlations between clinical and experimental pathological changes of congenital clubfoot and the pathodynamic developmental procedure.


METHODS
Eighty-three female Wistar rats were administered with retinoic acid on the 10th day after pregnancy. And from February 2001 to February 2004, 48 patients were analyzed with electropysiological examination.


RESULTS
There was clubfoot-like deformity in 53.7% of the experimental fetuses. Persistence of the embryonic position of the talus and tibia in fetuses was observed. Poor overlapping between talus and calcaneus was seen. Cell apoptosis at the anterior corner of spinal cord were seen. Of all the patients, 68.3% were abnormal with electropysiological examination. The pathological sites were frequently localized in lumbarsacral region.


CONCLUSIONS
Congenital clubfoot is correlated closely with defects of neural tube and spinal cord.
Du
Shi-xin
SX
Department of Orthopaedics, the First Clinical College of Shantou University, Shantou 515041, China. dsx333126@sina.com
Ji
Shi-jun
SJ
Sun
Kai-lai
KL
D000014:Abnormalities, Drug-Induced / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D000870:Anterior Horn Cells / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003025:Clubfoot / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology
D014212:Tretinoin