ABSTRACT
The seemingly endless forms of life that inhabit our world inspire in us a deep-felt wonder. Could the variety we see before us be directed through mechanisms hidden from sight, but illuminated through their own errors? The study of abnormal development, such as human trisomy, allows us to explore the mysteries and mechanisms behind normal evolutionary and developmental processes and can provide insight into how morphology changes throughout evolution. By studying the abnormal, we can determine the “normal” morphologic mechanisms in comparison with the associated genetic condition, better understand the correlations between phenotype and genotype, and explore the applications and implications of these data for medicine and public health.
