These principles of teratology were put forth by Jim Wilson in 1959 and in his monograph Environment and Birth Defects.
[8] These principles guide the study and understanding of teratogenic agents and their effects on developing organisms: Susceptibility to teratogenesis depends on the genotype of the conceptus and the manner in which this interacts with adverse environmental factors.
Teratogenic agents act in specific ways on developing cells and tissues to initiate sequences of abnormal developmental events.
There are four manifestations of deviant development (Death, Malformation, Growth Retardation and Functional Defect).
The James G. Wilson Publication Award is annually presented in recognition of the best paper accepted or published in the journal Birth Defects Research (formerly known as Teratology).