Thalidomide Disaster Considered as an Experiment in Mammalian Teratology

Teratology Literature and The Thalidomide Controversy

The prospect of bearing an abnormal or deformed child has long been a chilling fear of all expectant mothers. Of the estimated 130 million children born each year worldwide, ] at least 2 to 3 percent are born with some type of birth defect.z It has only been within the last 150 years that doctors have attempted to interpret birth defects, or congenital malformations, in a scientific manner. The...

The Franck-Hertz experiment re-considered

The celebrated Franck-Hertz experiment is reinterpreted by analogy with the Glimmentladung experiment, formerly performed by Heinrich Hertz.

Thalidomide as a Teratogen

Before 1961, there was very little evidence for drug-induced malformations in humans. But in that year, Lenz and McBride independently accumulated evidence that a mild sedative, thalidomide, caused an enormous increase in a previously rare syndrome of congenital anomalies. The most noticeable of these anomalies was phocomelia, a condition in which the long bones of the limbs are absent (amelia)...

Animal Rights Consideration is a Necessity in Conducting an Experiment

An updated history of the Teratology Society.

BACKGROUND The 49-year history of the Teratology Society is reviewed. An abbreviated history is outlined in table form, with listings of the Warkany Lectures, the Continuing Education Courses, and officers of the society. The original article was updated to include the years 2000 to 2010. METHODS A year-by-year description of the events is given, including the scientific and social content of...