Cleft uvula: a microform of facial clefts and its genetic basis.

Prevalence estimates of cleft uvula (CU) in two Amerindian populations (and sib analyses in one) were obtained and compared with estimates from other racial groups. The data and their analyses support the contention that CU is a microform of facial clefts. The relative and parallel frequencies of facial and uvula clefts in different races and the sib analyses are most consistent with a quasicontinuous polygenic basis for facial clefts and their microforms.