Abstract
To the Editor:— Because of the current atmosphere of heightened sensitivity to the use of drugs in pregnant women, I wish to comment on a communication in the Aug. 11, 1962, issue of the British Medical Journal which purports to link administration of tetracycline during pregnancy to the birth of an infant with malformed hands. The authors, Drs. M. P. Carter and F. Wilson, 1 speculate that tetracycline, which is known to deposit in bones undergoing ossification, may have been responsible for the observed malformation, syndactyly, and absence of the fourth and fifth metacarpals and phalanges. The tetracycline was given to the mother for 3 days starting on the 33rd day of pregnancy for the treatment of acute bronchitis complicated with pleurisy. At that point in time, according to Gardner 2 and Potter, 3 no centers of ossification can be demonstrated by any method in the metacarpals or phalanges prior
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