Polydactyly, a genetic condition, causes individuals to be born with extra fingers or toes. Usually harmless and hereditary, it results from a mutatio ...

Polydactyly, a birth defect meaning “many fingers or toes” in Greek, is one of the most common congenital limb differences in newborns, according to The Hospital for Special Surgery.

Every year, about 7.9 million infants (6% of worldwide births) are born with serious birth defects. With the causes of over 50% of birth defects unknown, how do we diagnose and prevent them?

One form of dwarfism, Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, involves not only short stature but polydactyly (extra fingers or toes), abnormalities of the nails and teeth, and, in about half of individuals ...