A
congenital birth defect in which a person is
born with more than 10
fingers or
toes.
Doctors aren't 100% sure about what causes this but it is known to be an error on the Trisomy 13 chromosome of DNA. The cause is meiotic nondisjunction.
The odds of this happening are 1 in 20,000 live births.
While it's better to have too many than too few fingers (The doctor can remove them later), A polydactal baby may also have other problems with this chromosome, such as:
Severe retardation
Apneic spell in infancy
Cryptorchidism
Polydactyly
Low-set ears
Flexion
deformity of fingers
Cleft lip/palate
Scalp defects