Congenital anomalies (CA) follow disorders during uterine development and can have various degrees of seriousness on a gradual scale from minor to very serious defects. Congenital anomalies can be either structural or functional.
Structural congenital anomalies vary from hypoplasia to agenesis and include also malformations, disruptions and deformations and their combinations. These congenital defects can be detected during the intrauterine development and if such a child is born the anomalies are usually recognizable at first sight.
Functional congenital anomalies usually do not manifest themselves right after the birth. The majority of them are metabolic disorders.
The science studying congenital anomalies their causes, pathogenesis, morfolology and prevention is called — teratology.
The global occurance of congenital anomalies is about 5% of stillborn infants, 2 – 3% newborn infants (anomalies detected right after birth) and another 2 – 3% are diagnosed during the first year of life.