ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the possible correlations between clinical and experimental pathological changes of congenital clubfoot and the pathodynamic developmental procedure.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty-three female Wistar rats were administered with retinoic acid on the 10th day after pregnancy. And from February 2001 to February 2004, 48 patients were analyzed with electropysiological examination.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There was clubfoot-like deformity in 53.7% of the experimental fetuses. Persistence of the embryonic position of the talus and tibia in fetuses was observed. Poor overlapping between talus and calcaneus was seen. Cell apoptosis at the anterior corner of spinal cord were seen. Of all the patients, 68.3% were abnormal with electropysiological examination. The pathological sites were frequently localized in lumbarsacral region.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Congenital clubfoot is correlated closely with defects of neural tube and spinal cord.</p>