Introduction to the study of pre‐and postnatal growth in humans: A review

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Abstract
This review is divided in several items. A brief introduction on the characterization of the growth processes is made; the ways of assessing fetal development and well‐being, the factors acting on fetal growth and birth weight, the causes and post‐natal consequences of prematurity and intrauterine growth retardation are discussed in the first part. The following items deal mainly with: the normal pattern of growth from birth to puberty according to sex, race, and nutritional status, with special mention to pubertal changes; methods for predicting adult height from skeletal age; the effect of hormones during pre‐ and post‐natal life; and the genetics of adult stature. The remainder of this review deals with genetic causes of growth abnormalities. Constitutional delay of growth, familial short stature, hypothalamic‐pituitary dwarfism, skeletal dysplasias and many genetic syndromes presenting intrauterine growth retardation are listed. Aneuploidy effects on human growth are extensively reviewed, and usual growth patterns in Down and Ullrich‐Turner syndrome patients as well as other sex aneuploid individuals and mosaics are fully described. The influences of X and Y chromosomes on growth and maturation are also discussed. Finally, some remarks are made about overgrowth syndromes.