Limb body wall malformation complex: an embryologic etiology?

Four human fetuses with the limb body wall malformation complex, also known as the amniotic band syndrome, were examined. Besides malformations of the body wall and the limb(s), anomalies of the internal organs were found in three fetuses, suggesting a disturbance of normal morphogenesis before the fifth week of development. When analyzing the observed data in relation to their etiology, no support was found for either the amniotic band or the vascular disruption theory. New insights into morphogenesis suggest that the limb body wall malformation complex results from a malfunction in the ectodermal placodes and that it can be considered to be an embryonic dysplasia.