Cloverleaf Skull and Thanatophoric Dwarfism

SummaryA case is described in which these abnor malities coexisted in a stillborn male foetus o normal parents. Radiological and autopsy findings are recorded and illustrated. The enlarged head caused obstructed labour.This is apparently the twenty‐fourth case of cloverleaf skull reported, and the first from Australasia.Available literature is reviewed, and the frequent association of limb bone deformities with cloverleaf skull is again noted. The differential diagnosis of these conditions is discussed, with particular reference to confusion with achondroplasia.It is postulated that the basic fault is a gross retardation of foetal skeletal development before 10 weeks (40 mm. embryo).