What is the difference between dysmorphology and clinical genetics?
There is a great deal of overlap; however, dysmorphology is the study of birth defects and developmental abnormalities. Although some have a genetic cause, many do not. Dysmorphology looks at the problem of birth defects in the widest possible construct. Clinical genetics involves the study of the impact of altered genes on health and disease. Although many developmental syndromes have been documented to have a genetic cause, some genetic abnormalities (such as those causing predisposition to cancer) have nothing to do with birth defects. The two fields overlap but are not synonymous.
