Minor physical anomalies (MPAs) are relatively minor (typically painless and, in themselves, harmless) congenital physical abnormalities consisting of features such as low-set ears, single transverse palmar crease, telecanthus, micrognathism, macrocephaly, hypotonia and furrowed tongue.
MPAs have been linked to disorders of pregnancy and are thought by some to be a marker for insults to the fetal neural development towards the end of the first trimester.
[1] A 1998 study found that 60% of its schizophrenic sample and 38% of their siblings had 6 or more MPAs (especially in the craniofacial area), while only 5% of the control group showed that many.
[4] The vaulted palate caused by nasal obstruction and consequent mouth breathing, without the lateralising effect of the tongue, can produce hypoxia at night.
[5] A study in the American Journal of Psychiatry by Trixler et al.:[6] found hemangiomas to be highly significant in schizophrenia.