The mechanism of palatal shelf elevation and the pathogenesis of cleft palate.

Both normal Wistar rat fetuses and those with cleft palate induced by 5-Fluoro-2-Desoxyuridine were studied with a view to elucidating the mechanism of palatal shelf elevation and the pathogenesis of cleft palate. It was postulated that normal shelf elevation is brought about rapidly by an intrinsic turgor shelf force generated by binding of water to mucopolysaccharides. Interference with mucopolysaccharide synthesis would seem to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of some types of cleft palate.