ABSTRACT
Early in the fourth week intrauterine, five primordial swellings, consisting of neural crest derived mesenchyme, appear around the stomodeum and are mainly responsible for face development. Development of the palate begins at the end of the fifth week. The primary palate is then formed by the fusion of the medial nasal processes to form the intermaxillary segment. Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is etiologically heterogeneous, with complex genetic and environmental interactions. It is essential to distinguish between isolated nonsyndromic cases and those clefts associated with particular syndromes, as both are considered etiologically distinct. Although many systems have been offered to classify CLP, none of them has been considered to be either comprehensive or universally accepted. Advances in molecular technology, and the identification of genes' environmental interactions associated with cleft development, has allowed for hypothesis testing for prevention. CLP is considered to be a debilitating condition associated with significant feeding, hearing, speech, and psychological problems.
