Ocular malformations in human fetuses with external malformations.

Sixty undamaged human fetuses with various nonocular external malformations were selected randomly from a large number of fetuses collected by the Department of Anatomy Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, and examined macroscopically and stereomicroscopically for ocular and other external and internal malformations. Eighteen fetuses (30 percent) showed ocular malformations of the following types: approximated eyes (two cases), approximated eyes plus microncornea (one case), microphthalmia (eight cases), microcornea (three cases), corneal opacity (one case), transparent sclera (two cases), and antimongoloid obliquity of the palpebral fissure (one case). In addition, asymmetric insertion sites of the recti muscles, regarded as a minor deviation, were found in 12 cases (20.0 percent). Of the fetuses with malformations in the central nervous system 37.5 per cent showed ocular malformations. No specific causes of ocular malformations could be confirmed in the present study. However, drugs such as hormones, sedatives and antipyretics in the early stage of pregnancy, systemic diseases such as influenza, and dysplasia or dysfunction of the ovary or uterus might be related to the production of some ocular and other malformations.