A growing sophistication of the American populace about the nature and realities of the impact of the environment on prenatal development was not much in evi dence in 1983. Continuing accusations against Agent Orange and Bendectin high light what must be a deep credulousness and need to blame others for one's bio logical misfortunes. We despair that ignorance and nonaccountability can be dissipated by objective means. But one can only learn and teach and hope. The need to know what causes congenital malformations becomes more imperative as they become the last major holdout, the most...

Congenital malformations are worldwide occurrences, they know no national borders, do not distinguish between races, ethnicities, rich or poor. These severe physical abnormalities, present at birth, happen more often than is usually realized, once in every 33 births. They strike every part of the body, limbs, head, heart, and all others.

The most frequent of them all are the many types of malformations of the cardiovascular system, the heart and its blood vessels, which happen in about once in every 250 births. Study of these conditions during the twentieth century took many forms,...

Serious congenital malformations are a major contributor to the infant death rate worldwide. Their nonhereditary causes are multiple and complex, and include infectious and metabolic dangers, disease medication, nutritional inadequacy, medicinal products, environmental agents and pollutants, among them. The cause of many however is still unknown.

The wide range of these causes makes the defects of interest to those of a wide range of medical and investigatory backgrounds, especialy clinicians, fundamental scientists, and environmentalists.