What is Syndrome, trisomy 13?

Syndrome, trisomy 13: Condition with three rather thanthe normal two chromosomes #13. Children born with this syndrome have multiplemalformations and mental retardation due to the extra chromosome #13. The congenitalmalformations ( birth defects) commonly include scalp defects, hemangiomas (bloodvessel malformations) of the face and nape of the neck, cleft lip and palate,malformations of the heart and abdominal organs, and flexed fingers with extra digits. Themental retardation is profound. The IQ is untestably low. The majority of trisomy 13 babies die soon after birth or in infancy. The condition is also called Patau syndromeafter the late geneticist Klaus Patau (at the University of Wisconsin) who discoveredthe extra chromosome in 1960.