The abnormal embryonic development resulting from the alcohol treatment at this specific stage of development (Figure 1; Table 1) was consistent with our previous report [29] and those of others [41,42]. Two different facets of abnormal development could be identified: growth delay and frank teratogenesis. Delays in growth were also evident by the significant reductions in the total RNA per embryo and in the delayed morphological staging (Table 1). The affected structures were derived from each of the three germ layers, i.e., neural tube and brain vesicles (ectoderm), somites and cardiovascular system (mesoderm/endoderm), and involved a wide range of tissues and organs (e.g., heart, head, limbs). Alterations in all of these have been observed in FAS cases. The teratogenic consequences were evident as dysmorphology of various organs (central nervous system, eye, and heart) that involved pathogenic effects beyond just the observed delay of the normal course of development. Examples include enlarged heart primordium and abnormally enlarged ventricular chambers, detached pericardial sac, small forebrain, flat telencephalic vesicle, failure in neural tube closure, and small and irregularly shaped eyes.
