Etiology of Congenital Heart Disease - 20 Years of Progress in Genetics and Developmental Biology (Hardcover)

This book discusses past and present research on the etiology and morphogenesis of congenital heart disease, from the molecular level of genotype to the outward physical manifestation of the patient"s symptoms. In eight main sections and 67 chapters, the genetics, symmetry, and molecular interaction of the early stages of heart formations are described; structural formation and external factors affecting form and function are explored, and specific syndromes are analyzed. Fundamental principles of the earliest stages of cardiovasculogenesis are being clarified at the molecular/cellular level, while advances in precise genotypic diagnosis, combined with better phenotypic assessment, are leading to conceptual changes in the management of congenital heart disease. Although much remains to be learned about genotypic-phenotypic correlations, it is clear that the clinical implications of such understandings are bound to have deep and far-reaching benefits. Cardiologists and pediatric cardiologists, cardiovascular researchers, human geneticists, molecular biologists, and pathologists will all find their understanding of congenital heart disease increased by this extensive, well-written examination.