Teratologic Monitoring through Embryo and Fetus Collecting

Abstract

The article by Källén and Winberg1 regarding a Swedish register of congenital malformations described a system of early reporting and tabulation of anomalies in the newborn. Another approach to the same problem is the systematic collection and examination of human abortuses. The advantages to this program which should, of course, only augment newborn monitoring are: (1) The onset of an epidemic of malformations following introduction of a new teratogen could appear in the aborted fetus many months before delivery of affected full-term infants.