Premature centromere division of a translocation-carrier autosome.

Premature centromere division of an aberrant chromosome 3 was found in a newborn girl with fetal hydrops and in her healthy father, both bearing a familial "balanced" 3p;19q translocation. The out-of-phase separation of a structurally abnormal chromosome may be of pathogenetic significance, the nature of which is not yet understood.