Patau Syndrome
Definition
Patau syndrome, also called trisomy 13, is a congenital (present at birth) disorder associated with the presence of an extra copy of chromosome 13. The extra chromosome 13 causes numerous physical and mental abnormalities, especially heart defects. Patau syndrome is named for Klaus Patau, who reported the syndrome and its association with trisomy in 1960.
Description
Children normally inherit 23 chromosomes from each parent, for a total of 46 chromosomes. A typical human being has 46 chromosomes: 22 pairs of non-sex linked chromosomes and one pair of sex-linked chromosomes that determine that person's sex. Sometimes a child may end up with more than 46 chromosomes because of problems with the father's sperm or the mother's egg or because of mutations that occurred after the...
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