Hypothetical Facies – a Signal of FASD

I (W. Wertelecki, M.D.) see an idealized sketch of a face characteristic of alcohol teratogenesis – a signal, in this instance, a facies.

It should be remembered that only a minority of victims of alcohol teratogenesis have such facies. Furthermore, functional alterations with no or minimal structural alterations are significantly more common than fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). The term FASD, that includes functional and structural anomalies of mild or severe degree, is preferable.