Congenital anomalies in the teratological collection of Museum Vrolik in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. I: Syndromes with multiple congenital anomalies

Abstract

The Museum Vrolik collection of the Department of Anatomy and Embryology of the University of Amsterdam, founded by Gerardus Vrolik (1775-1859) and his son Willem Vrolik (1801-1863), consists of more than 5,000 thousand specimens of human and animal anatomy, embryology, pathology, and congenital anomalies. Recently, the collection of congenital anomalies was recatalogued and redescribed according to contempory syndromological views. The original descriptions, as far as preserved, were compared with the clinical and radiographical findings. In 13 specimens the following multiple congenital anomalies (MCA) syndromes were diagnosed: acrofacial dysostosis, Apert syndrome, Brachmann-De Lange syndrome, ichthyosis congenita gravis, Jarcho-Levin syndrome, Meckel syndrome, oro-facio-digital syndrome type IV, Roberts syndrome, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, Treacher Collins syndrome, and trisomy 13. It appeared that the founders of the museum studied and described several of these syndromes many years before they became established as such. In some specimens a reliable diagnosis is still pending. The use of additional diagnostical techniques, such as MRI, CT scanning, and fluorescence in situ hybridization, in these specimens is currently being investigated.

Congenital anomalies in the teratological collection of museum Vrolik in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. iii: primary field defects, sequences, and other complex anomalies

“…All specimens were reinvestigated and the diagnoses verified according to modern morphological perspectives. The specimens with malformation syndromes and with skeletal dysplasias were described in previous papers [Oostra et al, , 1997[Oostra et al, , 1998a. Here we report on specimens with nonsyndromal conditions, i.e., midline anomalies, primary (polytopic) field defects, sequences, and associations.…”

“…In five specimens holoprosencephaly was associated with polydactyly (q.v.). In one specimen the condition was part of the Meckel syndrome [Oostra et al, 1998a].…”

Insight into the history of anatomopathological museums – Part 1. From casual assemblages to scientific collections

“…The collection shows syndromes with multiple congenital anomalies, skeletal dysplasias, sequences, other complex anomalies, closure defects of the neural tube, and conjoined and acardiac twins. Subsequently it was expanded with donations by Hovius' collection of pathological bones and Grevers' dental collection [26,27]. In 1869, after Willem's death, the collection was bought by the city community and donated to the municipal Athenaeum Illustre, the later University of Amsterdam, where it is still open and revitalized as Museum Vrolik (Fig.…”

Historical aspects of the study of malformations in The Netherlands

“…The collection of malformed specimens of man and mammals (''terata'') of the Museum Vrolikianum is based on the private collection of Gerardus Vrolik (1775Vrolik ( -1859 and his son Willem Vrolik, dating from the beginning of the 19th century, and continues to function as a central part of the Department of Anatomy and Embryology in the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam Oostra et al, 1994]. Recently many specimens of the collection were reexamined, using radiographic, CT scan, and MRI methods, the results of which are published in this journal [Oostra et al, 1997[Oostra et al, , 1998a. As an introduction to these two papers, some aspects of the history of Dutch morphology during the 17th-19th centuries will be described.…”