Vater syndrome: hypothesis and report of two further cases.

Two cases are reported of the association of a group of abnormalities defined as the Vater syndrome, together with a hypothesis, based on the presence of normal cell death during embryogenesis, on how they occur together so frequently. Although the mechanism of normal cell death is unknown, adjacent cells are probably affected sublethally and subsequently recover. A teratogenic situation introduced simultaneously with the occurrence of normal cell death may further diminish the viability of those adjacent cells, causing increase in the necrotic zone and loss of both normal tissue and growth potential.