X-linked cleft palate.

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is twice as frequent among Indians of British Columbia as among non-Indians, although the reverse is the case whenever we consider isolated cleft palate. A family is described with 12 affected males. Close examination of this family revealed that the most likely explanation for the cleft palate was an X-linked recessive gene. It is concluded that isolated cleft palate among the Indians of British Columbia is an extremely rare anomaly.