BIRTH DEFECT

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does birth defect mean? 

• BIRTH DEFECT (noun)
  The noun BIRTH DEFECT has 1 sense:

1. a defect that is present at birth

  Familiarity information: BIRTH DEFECT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• BIRTH DEFECT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A defect that is present at birth

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

birth defect; congenital abnormality; congenital anomaly; congenital defect; congenital disorder

Hypernyms ("birth defect" is a kind of...):

anomalousness; anomaly (deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule)

defect (an imperfection in a bodily system)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "birth defect"):

meromelia (congenital absence of part of an arm or leg)

ankyloglossia; tongue tie (a congenital anomaly in which the mucous membrane under the tongue is too short limiting the mobility of the tongue)

syndactylism; syndactyly (birth defect in which there is partial or total webbing connecting two or more fingers or toes)

hyperdactyly; polydactyly (birth defect characterized by the presence of more than the normal number of fingers or toes)

spinocerebellar disorder (any of several congenital disorders marked by degeneration of the cerebellum and spinal cord resulting in spasticity and ataxia)

rachischisis; schistorrhachis; spina bifida (a not uncommon congenital defect in which a vertebra is malformed; unless several vertebrae are affected or there is myelomeningocele there are few symptoms; can be diagnosed by amniocentesis)

congenital heart defect (a birth defect involving the heart)

scaphocephaly (congenital malformation of the skull which is long and narrow; frequently accompanied by mental retardation)

pseudohermaphroditism (congenital condition in which a person has external genitalia of one sex and internal sex organs of the other sex)

hermaphrodism; hermaphroditism (congenital condition in which external genitalia and internal sex organs have both male and female characteristics)

polysomy (congenital defect of having one or more extra chromosomes in somatic cells)

plagiocephaly (congenital malformation of the skull in which the main axis of the skull is oblique)

myelomeningocele (a congenital defect of the central nervous system in which a sac containing part of the spinal cord and its meninges protrude through a gap in the vertebral column; frequently accompanied by hydrocephalus and mental retardation)

meningocele (a congenital anomaly of the central nervous system in which a sac protruding from the brain or the spinal meninges contains cerebrospinal fluid (but no nerve tissue))

encephalocele (protrusion of brain tissue through a congenital fissure in the skull)

ablepharia (a congenital absence of eyelids (partial or complete))

amelia (congenital absence of an arm or leg)

cleft palate (a congenital fissure of the hard palate)

cheiloschisis; cleft lip; harelip (a congenital cleft in the middle of the upper lip)

acrocephaly; oxycephaly (a congenital abnormality of the skull; the top of the skull assumes a cone shape)

Down's syndrome; Down syndrome; mongolianism; mongolism; trisomy 21 (a congenital disorder caused by having an extra 21st chromosome; results in a flat face and short stature and mental retardation)

macroglossia (a congenital disorder characterized by an abnormally large tongue; often seen in cases of Down's syndrome)

clinodactyly (a congenital defect in which one or more toes or fingers are abnormally positioned)

clinocephalism; clinocephaly (a congenital defect in which the top of the head is depressed (concave instead of convex))

epispadias (a congenital abnormality in males in which the urethra is on the upper surface of the penis)

color blindness; color vision deficiency; colour blindness; colour vision deficiency (genetic inability to distinguish differences in hue)

ametria (congenital absence of the uterus)

anencephalia; anencephaly (a defect in brain development resulting in small or missing brain hemispheres)

albinism (the congenital absence of pigmentation in the eyes and skin and hair)

 Context examples 

Some, like cleft lip and palate, are among the most common of all birth defects.

(Craniofacial Abnormalities, NIH)

This includes evaluating a device for chemicals or agents that may have caused or contributed to birth defects or malformations (teratogenic evaluation).

(Device Reproductive Toxicity Evaluation Method, Food and Drug Administration)

Pregnant women can take the vitamin folic acid to prevent certain birth defects in their babies.

(Dietary Supplements, NIH: National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements)

Birth defects can also affect the face.

(Facial Injuries and Disorders, NIH)

Congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect.

(Congenital Heart Defects, NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby's lip or mouth do not form properly.

(Cleft Lip and Palate, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

You may know my story, that I had to teach myself through high school, as those were the years of all my surgeries in the hospital to overcome a life-threatening, internal-bleeding birth defect.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Some medicines can cause serious birth defects.

(Birth Defects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

With modern technology, health professionals can: • Detect birth defects • Identify problems that may affect childbirth • Correct some kinds of fetal problems before the baby is born

(Fetal Health and Development, NIH)

This condition is not always pathological and may correct itself as the patient matures; however, it may also present as a birth defect in multiple syndromes.

(Micrognathism, NCI Thesaurus)