Congenital Laryngeal-Abductor Paralysis Due to Nucleus Ambiguus Dysgenesis in Three Brothers

CHEVALIER Jackson,1 in 1937, made the following comment: "Untold thousands of infants have asphyxiated because of bilateral abductor paralysis — the cyanosis being attributed to a persistent foramen ovale or failure of respiration to start." Despite this statement relatively few reports of congenital laryngeal-abductor paralysis can be found in the literature, and I have been unable to locate any reference to this occurrence in siblings.The present report concerns 3 brothers with congenital laryngeal-abductor paralysis who were examined at Indiana University Medical Center on August 22, 1963, for mental retardation.Case ReportsCase 1. R.D., first seen at the age . . .