Intrauterine growth retardation. A report of two cases with bird-headed appearance, skeletal changes and peripheral GH resistance.

Two cases of severe intrauterine growth retardation, a boy and a girl studied for 7 and 10 years respectively, are reported. Both patients showed peculiar cranio-facial abnormalities as observed in the so-called Seckel's syndrome, an appearance of premature aging, peripheral GH resistance which was probably due to deficiency in Somatomedin A production, sella areas and volumes consistently at the upper limits of normal when related to the patients' height, and dysharmonic skeletal maturation ivory cone-shaped epiphyses of the tubular bones of the hands.