fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) [L, fetus + Ar, alkohl, essence; Gk, syn, together, dromos, course] , a set of congenital psychological, behavioral, and physical abnormalities that tend to appear in infants whose mothers consumed alcohol during pregnancy. It is characterized by typical craniofacial and limb defects, cardiovascular defects, intrauterine growth impairment, and delayed development. The most serious cases have involved infants born to mothers who were chronic alcoholics and drank heavily during pregnancy. Women who drank less reportedly gave birth to infants with less serious malformations, or fetal alcohol effects (FAEs), but it is not known whether there is a lower limit to alcohol consumption during pregnancy or a particular period in embryonic life when the offspring is most vulnerable to effects of alcohol.
