Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), also known as acute lymphocytic leukemia, is a subtype of acute leukemia, a cancer of the white blood cells. Somatically acquired mutations in several genes have been identified in ALL lymphoblasts, cells in the early stages of differentiation. Germline variation in certain genes may also predispose to susceptibility to ALL (Trevino et al., 2009). Genetic Heterogeneity of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia A susceptibility locus for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL1) has been mapped to chromosome 10q21. See also ALL2 (613067), which has been mapped to chromosome 7p12.2; and ALL3 (615545), which is caused by mutation in the PAX5 gene (167414) on chromosome 9p.

A cancer originating in lymphocytes and presenting as a solid tumor of lymhpoid cells.

ALK-related neuroblastic tumor susceptibility is characterized by increased risk for neuroblastic tumors including neuroblastoma, ganglioneuroblastoma, and ganglioneuroma. Neuroblastoma is a more malignant tumor and ganglioneuroma a more benign tumor. Depending on the histologic findings, ganglioneuroblastoma can behave in a more aggressive fashion, like neuroblastoma, or in a benign fashion, like ganglioneuroma. Preliminary data from the ten reported families with ALK-related neuroblastic tumor susceptibility suggest an overall penetrance of approximately 57% with the risk for neuroblastic tumor development highest in infancy and decreasing by late childhood.

Cryptorchidism, or failure of testicular descent, is a common human congenital abnormality with a multifactorial etiology that likely reflects the involvement of endocrine, environmental, and hereditary factors. Cryptorchidism can result in infertility and increases risk for testicular tumors. Testicular descent from abdomen to scrotum occurs in 2 distinct phases: the transabdominal phase and the inguinoscrotal phase (summary by Gorlov et al., 2002).

Abnormal position of urethral meatus on the ventral penile shaft (underside) characterized by displacement of the urethral meatus from the tip of the glans penis to the ventral surface of the penis, scrotum, or perineum.

A foot where the longitudinal arch of the foot is in contact with the ground or floor when the individual is standing; or, in a patient lying supine, a foot where the arch is in contact with the surface of a flat board pressed against the sole of the foot by the examiner with a pressure similar to that expected from weight bearing; or, the height of the arch is reduced.

Webbing or fusion of the fingers or toes, involving soft parts only or including bone structure. Bony fusions are referred to as "bony" syndactyly if the fusion occurs in a radio-ulnar axis. Fusions of bones of the fingers or toes in a proximo-distal axis are referred to as "symphalangism".

The distal and proximal transverse palmar creases are merged into a single transverse palmar crease.

Clinodactyly refers to a bending or curvature of the fifth finger in the radial direction (i.e., towards the 4th finger).

An abnormal restriction of fetal growth with fetal weight below the tenth percentile for gestational age.

A height below that which is expected according to age and gender norms. Although there is no universally accepted definition of short stature, many refer to "short stature" as height more than 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender (or below the 3rd percentile for age and gender dependent norms).

Slow or limited growth after birth.

The presence of chronic diarrhea, which is usually taken to mean diarrhea that has persisted for over 4 weeks.

Paroxysmal, recurrent episodes of vomiting.

Impaired feeding performance of an infant as manifested by difficulties such as weak and ineffective sucking, brief bursts of sucking, and falling asleep during sucking. There may be difficulties with chewing or maintaining attention.

A condition in which the stomach contents leak backwards from the stomach into the esophagus through the lower esophageal sphincter.

Upper insertion of the ear to the scalp below an imaginary horizontal line drawn between the inner canthi of the eye and extending posteriorly to the ear.

Angle formed by the plane of the ear and the mastoid bone greater than the 97th centile for age (objective); or, outer edge of the helix more than 2 cm from the mastoid at the point of maximum distance (objective).

An abnormal increase in the pitch (frequency) of the voice.

Reduced attention span characterized by distractibility and impulsivity.

Hyperactivity is a condition characterized by constant and unusually high levels of activity, even in situations where it is deemed inappropriate.

A degree of language development that is significantly below the norm for a child of a specified age.

A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.

Intellectual disability, previously referred to as mental retardation, is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning that occurs during the developmental period. It is defined by an IQ score below 70.

Aplastic anemia is a serious disorder of the bone marrow that affects between 2 and 5 persons per million per year. About 75% of these cases are classified as idiopathic (Young, 2000). In about 15% of cases a drug or infection can be identified that precipitates the aplasia, although why only some individuals are susceptible is unclear. In about 5 to 10% of patients, the aplastic anemia is constitutional--i.e., is familial or presents with one or more associated somatic abnormalities (summary by Vulliamy et al., 2002).

Protrusion of the contents of the abdominal cavity through the inguinal canal.

Developmental hypoplasia of the mandible.

Hypotonia is an abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle). Even when relaxed, muscles have a continuous and passive partial contraction which provides some resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia thus manifests as diminished resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.

A decreased rate of skeletal maturation. Delayed skeletal maturation can be diagnosed on the basis of an estimation of the bone age from radiographs of specific bones in the human body.

Generalized muscular hypotonia (abnormally low muscle tone).

Head circumference below 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender.

Eczema is a form of dermatitis that is characterized by scaly, pruritic, erythematous lesions located on flexural surfaces.

Inflammation or infection of the middle ear.

Decreased levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA).

Increased susceptibility to infections.

An abnormally decreased level of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in blood.

An decreased concentration of cholesterol in the blood.

A fixed reduction in the vertical distance between the upper and lower eyelids with short palpebral fissures.

Caries is a multifactorial bacterial infection affecting the structure of the tooth. This term has been used to describe the presence of more than expected dental caries.

Inability of velopharyngeal sphincter to sufficiently separate the nasal cavity from the oral cavity during speech.

Delayed tooth eruption, which can be defined as tooth eruption more than 2 SD beyond the mean eruption age.

An abnormally increased height of the forehead.

Height of the palate more than 2 SD above the mean (objective) or palatal height at the level of the first permanent molar more than twice the height of the teeth (subjective).

Distance between the medial and lateral canthi is more than 2 SD below the mean for age (objective); or, apparently reduced length of the palpebral fissures.

Distance between the inner canthi more than two standard deviations above the mean (objective); or, apparently increased distance between the inner canthi.

Increase in width of the nasal tip.

Hard-palate submucous clefts are characterized by bony defects in the midline of the bony palate that are covered by the mucous membrane of the roof of the mouth. It may be possible to detect a submucous cleft hard palate upon palpation as a notch in the bony palate.

Epicanthus is a condition in which a fold of skin stretches from the upper to the lower eyelid, partially covering the inner canthus. Usher (1935) noted that epicanthus is a normal finding in the fetus of all races. Epicanthus also occurs in association with hereditary ptosis (110100).

A congenital defect characterized by the absence of one or more permanent teeth, including oligodontia, hypodontia, and adontia of the of permanent teeth.

An abnormal difference between the left and right sides of the face.

Facial contour, as viewed from the front, triangular in shape, with breadth at the temples and tapering to a narrow chin.

Increased width of the skin of vermilion border region of upper lip.

Increased breadth of the nasal bridge (and with it, the nasal root).

Anterior positioning of the nasal root in comparison to the usual positioning for age.

A face that is short and narrow.

Decreased number of hairs per unit area of skin of the scalp.

Decreased density/number and/or decreased diameter of lateral eyebrow hairs.

Inclination of the anterior surface of the forehead from the vertical more than two standard deviations above the mean (objective); or apparently excessive posterior sloping of the forehead in a lateral view.

Flatness of the supraorbital portion of the frontal bones.

A cutaneous indentation resulting from tethering of the skin to underlying structures (bone) of the intergluteal cleft.

The upper eyelid margin is positioned 3 mm or more lower than usual and covers the superior portion of the iris (objective); or, the upper lid margin obscures at least part of the pupil (subjective).

An abnormality of refraction characterized by the ability to see objects in the distance clearly, while objects nearby appear blurry.

Microphthalmia is an eye abnormality that arises before birth. In this condition, one or both eyeballs are abnormally small. In some affected individuals, the eyeball may appear to be completely missing; however, even in these cases some remaining eye tissue is generally present. Such severe microphthalmia should be distinguished from another condition called anophthalmia, in which no eyeball forms at all. However, the terms anophthalmia and severe microphthalmia are often used interchangeably. Microphthalmia may or may not result in significant vision loss.\n\nPeople with microphthalmia may also have a condition called coloboma. Colobomas are missing pieces of tissue in structures that form the eye. They may appear as notches or gaps in the colored part of the eye called the iris; the retina, which is the specialized light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye; the blood vessel layer under the retina called the choroid; or in the optic nerves, which carry information from the eyes to the brain. Colobomas may be present in one or both eyes and, depending on their size and location, can affect a person's vision.\n\nPeople with microphthalmia may also have other eye abnormalities, including clouding of the lens of the eye (cataract) and a narrowed opening of the eye (narrowed palpebral fissure). Additionally, affected individuals may have an abnormality called microcornea, in which the clear front covering of the eye (cornea) is small and abnormally curved.\n\nBetween one-third and one-half of affected individuals have microphthalmia as part of a syndrome that affects other organs and tissues in the body. These forms of the condition are described as syndromic. When microphthalmia occurs by itself, it is described as nonsyndromic or isolated.

A misalignment of the eyes so that the visual axes deviate from bifoveal fixation. The classification of strabismus may be based on a number of features including the relative position of the eyes, whether the deviation is latent or manifest, intermittent or constant, concomitant or otherwise and according to the age of onset and the relevance of any associated refractive error.

A coloboma of the iris.

Megalocornea is an inherited eye disorder in which the corneal diameter is bilaterally enlarged (greater than 13 mm) without an increase in intraocular pressure. It may also be referred to as 'anterior megalophthalmos,' since the entire anterior segment is larger than normal. Features of megalocornea in addition to a deep anterior chamber include astigmatic refractive errors, atrophy of the iris stroma, miosis secondary to decreased function of the dilator muscle, iridodonesis, and tremulousness, subluxation, or dislocation of the lens. Whereas most affected individuals exhibit normal ocular function, complications include cataract development and glaucoma following lenticular dislocation or subluxation. X-linked recessive inheritance is the most common pattern, accounting for the male preponderance of the disorder (summary by Skuta et al., 1983). Megalocornea sometimes occurs as part of the Marfan syndrome (154700). Genetic Heterogeneity of Megalocornea Autosomal recessive megalocornea has been reported (249300).

Congenital underdevelopment of the iris.

An inherited retinal disease subtype in which the rod photoreceptors appear to be more severely affected than the cone photoreceptors. Typical presentation is with nyctalopia (due to rod dysfunction) followed by loss of mid-peripheral field of vision, which gradually extends and leaves many patients with a small central island of vision due to the preservation of macular cones.