Child abuse or child maltreatment is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to act by a parent or a caregiver that results in actual or potential harm to a child and can occur in a childs home, or in the organizations, schools, or communities the child interacts with. The terms child abuse and child maltreatment are often used interchangeably, although some researchers make a distinction between them, treating child maltreatment as an umbrella term to cover neglect, exploitation, and trafficking. Different jurisdictions have different requirements for mandatory reporting and have developed different definitions of what constitutes child abuse, and therefore have different criteria to remove children from their families or to prosecute a criminal charge. History
As late as the 19th century, cruelty to children, perpetrated by employers and teachers, was commonplace and widespread, and corporal punishment was customary in many countries. But, in the first half of the 19th century, pathologists studying filicide (the parental killing of children) reported cases of death from paternal rage, recurrent physical maltreatment, starvation, and sexual abuse.
Angel-shaped phalango-epiphyseal dysplasia, also known as peripheral dysostosis, is a rare type of osteochondrodysplasia which is characterized by angel-shaped middle phalanges of the fingers and generalized metaphyseal dysplasia/delayed osseous age. Additional findings include joint hypermobility, hypodontia, and hip osteoarthritis. According to OMIM, 10 cases from multiple families have been described in medical literature. It is thought to be inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. According to ORPHA, 20 cases have been reported. Presentation
The middle phalanges (often those of the 2nd, 3rd and 5th digits of the hands) angel shape is caused by an abnormal development of the epiphysis, metaphysis, and diaphysis of said phalanges; the wings are formed by an abnormal dyaphysis, the angels skirt is from a cone-shaped epiphysis, and the head is formed by an abnormal distal pseudoepophysis. Genetics
This disorder is thought to be caused by autosomal dominant mutations in the GDF5 gene, in chromosome 20. History
This condition was first discovered in 1967, by Bachman et al. when he described a "hereditary peripheral dysostosis" on one woman and 2 of her children. Eponym
This disorders name comes from the fact that Bachman et al. (the researchers who originally described the disorder) and Giedion et al. missed a characteristic feature that the people diagnosed with the disorder shared: a middle phalange that had a striking resemblance to the shape of decorative angels of small size that are often put in Christmas trees. == References ==