The actual incidence of this disease is not known, but only 243 cases have been reported in the scientific literature, suggesting an incidence of on the order of one affected person in ten million people.

TBS is an autosomal dominant involving the a mutation of the gene SALL1, which encodes a transcriptional repressor which interacts with TRF1/PIN2 and localizes to pericentromeric heterochromatin. The clinical features of TBS overlap with VATER and VACTERL associations, oculo-auriculo-vertebral (OAV) spectrum, branchio-oto-renal (BOR) syndrome, and Fanconi anemia and other 'anus-hand-ear' syndromes.

Although some symptoms can be life-threatening, many people diagnosed with Townes-Brocks Syndrome live a normal lifespan.

Currently there are no open research studies for otodental syndrome. Due to the rarity of this disease, current research is very limited.

The most recent research has involved case studies of the affected individuals and/or families, all of which show the specific phenotypic symptoms of otodental syndrome. Investigations on the effects of FGF3 and FADD have also been performed. These studies have shown successes in supporting previous studies that mutations to FGF3 and neighboring genes may cause the associated phenotypic abnormalities. According to recent studies involving zebrafish embryos, there is also support in that the FADD gene contributed to ocular coloboma symptoms as well.

Future research studies are required in order to better grasp the specific relationship between the gene involved and its effect on various tissues and organs such as teeth, eyes, and ear. Little is known and there is still much to be determined.

Branchio-oculo-facial syndrome is difficult to diagnose because it has incomplete penetrance. It is often misdiagnosed as branchio-oto-renal syndrome because of their similarities in symptoms.

The cause of Goldenhar syndrome is largely unknown. However, it is thought to be multifactorial, although there may be a genetic component, which would account for certain familial patterns. It has been suggested that there is a branchial arch development issue late in the first trimester.

An increase in Goldenhar syndrome in the children of Gulf War veterans has been suggested, but the difference was shown to be statistically insignificant.

Donnai–Barrow syndrome appears to be a rare disorder. A few dozen affected individuals have been reported in many regions of the world.

Wildervanck syndrome or cervico-oculo-acoustic syndrome comprises a triad of:

- Duane syndrome

- Klippel-Feil anomaly (fused cervical vertebrae)

- congenital hearing loss

Prevalence ranges from 1 in 3500 to 5600 live births. Male-female ratio is found to be 3:2.

Townes–Brocks syndrome (TBS) is a rare genetic disease that has been described in approximately 200 cases in the published literature. It affects both males and females equally. The condition was first identified in 1972. by Philip L. Townes, MD, PhD, who was at the time a human geneticists and Professor of Pediatrics, and Eric Brocks, MD, who was at the time a medical student, both at the University of Rochester.

Donnai–Barrow syndrome is a genetic disorder first described by Dian Donnai and Margaret Barrow in 1993. It is associated with "LRP2". It is an inherited (genetic) disorder that affects many parts of the body.

In utero exposure to cocaine and other street drugs can lead to septo-optic dysplasia.

Until recently, the medical literature did not indicate a connection among many genetic disorders, both genetic syndromes and genetic diseases, that are now being found to be related. As a result of new genetic research, some of these are, in fact, highly related in their root cause despite the widely varying set of medical symptoms that are clinically visible in the disorders. Ellis–van Creveld syndrome is one such disease, part of an emerging class of diseases called ciliopathies. The underlying cause may be a dysfunctional molecular mechanism in the primary cilia structures of the cell, organelles which are present in many cellular types throughout the human body. The cilia defects adversely affect "numerous critical developmental signaling pathways" essential to cellular development and thus offer a plausible hypothesis for the often multi-symptom nature of a large set of syndromes and diseases. Known ciliopathies include primary ciliary dyskinesia, Bardet–Biedl syndrome, polycystic kidney and liver disease, nephronophthisis, Alstrom syndrome, Meckel–Gruber syndrome and some forms of retinal degeneration.

Weyers acrofacial dysostosis is due to another mutation in the EVC gene and hence is allelic with Ellis–van Creveld syndrome.

Otodental syndrome is a rare condition that is genetically inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. Although there is no specific biological mechanism for otodental syndrome, what is recognized is that there is a genetic mutation, known as haploinsufficiency, that occurs in the fibroblast growth factor 3 (FGF3) gene (11q13). This is the alleged cause of the physical abnormalities and symptoms associated with otodental syndrome. Although in individuals with signs of ocular coloboma, a microdeletion in the Fas-associated death domain (FADD) gene (11q13.3) was also found to be responsible. There is variable penetrance and variable gene expression within these genetic mutations. Individuals with sensorineural hearing loss are believed to have a local lesion in the auditory segment of the inner ear, known as the cochlea. The biological mechanism for this is currently unknown as well.

Ellis–van Creveld syndrome often is the result of founder effects in isolated human populations, such as the Amish and some small island inhabitants. Although relatively rare, this disorder does occur with higher incidence within founder-effect populations due to lack of genetic variability. Observation of the inheritance pattern has illustrated that the disease is autosomal recessive, meaning that both parents have to carry the gene in order for an individual to be affected by the disorder.

Ellis–van Creveld syndrome is caused by a mutation in the "EVC" gene, as well as by a mutation in a nonhomologous gene, "EVC2", located close to the EVC gene in a head-to-head configuration. The gene was identified by positional cloning. The EVC gene maps to the chromosome 4 short arm (4p16). The function of a healthy EVC gene is not well understood at this time.

ODD is typically an autosomal dominant condition, but can be inherited as a recessive trait. It is generally believed to be caused by a mutation in the gene GJA1, which codes for the gap junction protein connexin 43. Slightly different mutations in this gene may explain the different way the condition manifests in different families. Most people inherit this condition from one of their parents, but new cases do arise through novel mutations. The mutation has high penetrance and variable expression, which means that nearly all people with the gene show signs of the condition, but these signs can range from very mild to very obvious.

Acro–dermato–ungual–lacrimal–tooth (ADULT) syndrome is a rare genetic disease. ADULT syndrome is an autosomal dominant form of ectodermal dysplasia, a group of disorders that affects the hair, teeth, nails, sweat glands, and extremities. The syndrome arises from a mutation in the TP63 gene. This disease was previously thought to be a form of ectrodactyly–ectodermal dysplasia–cleft syndrome (EEC), but was classified as a different disease in 1993 by Propping and Zerres.

Branchio-oculo-facial syndrome (BOFS) is a disease that arises from a mutation in the TFAP2A gene. It is a rare autosomal dominant disorder that starts to affect a child's development before birth. Symptoms of this condition include skin abnormalities on the neck, deformities of the ears and eyes, and other distinctive facial features such a cleft lip along with slow growth, mental retardation and premature graying of hair.

ADULT syndrome features include ectrodactyly, syndactyly, excessive freckling, lacrimal duct anomalies, dysplastic nails, hypodontia, hypoplastic breasts and nipples, hypotrichosis, hypohidrosis, broad nasal bridge, midfacial hypoplasia, exfoliative dermatitis, and xerosis. The lack of facial clefting and ankyloblepharon are important because they exist in ectrodactyly–ectodermal dysplasia–cleft syndrome (EEC) but not in ADULT syndrome.

The specific cause of camptodactyly remains unknown, but there are a few deficiencies that lead to the condition. A deficient lumbrical muscle controlling the flexion of the fingers, and abnormalities of the flexor and extensor tendons.

A number of congenital syndromes may also cause camptodactyly:

- Jacobsen syndrome

- Beals Syndrome

- Blau syndrome

- Freeman-Sheldon syndrome

- Cerebrohepatorenal syndrome

- Weaver syndrome

- Christian syndrome 1

- Gordon Syndrome

- Jacobs arthropathy-camptodactyly syndrome

- Lenz microphthalmia syndrome

- Marshall-Smith-Weaver syndrome

- Oculo-dento-digital syndrome

- Tel Hashomer camptodactyly syndrome

- Toriello-Carey syndrome

- Stuve-Wiedemann syndrome

- Loeys-Dietz syndrome

- Fryns syndrome

- Marfan's syndrome

- Carnio-carpo-tarsal dysthropy

Rare familial recurrence has been reported, suggesting at least one genetic form (HESX1). In addition to HESX1, mutations in OTX2, SOX2 and PAX6 have been implicated in de Morsier syndrome, but in most cases SOD is a sporadic birth defect of unknown cause and does not recur with subsequent pregnancies.

Hay–Wells syndrome is also known as AEC syndrome; this is short for "ankyloblepharon–ectodermal dysplasia–clefting syndrome", "ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum–ectodermal dysplasia–cleft palate syndrome", "ankyloblepharon–ectodermal defects–cleft lip/palate (AEC) syndrome", "ankyloblepharon–ectodermal defect–cleft lip and/or palate syndrome", or "ankyloblepharon ectodermal dysplasia and clefting". Hay–Wells syndrome, or Ankyloblepharon-Ectodermal Dysplasia-Clefting (AEC) syndrome, is one of over one-hundred forms of ectodermal dysplasia; a collection of inherited diseases that cause atypical development of nails, glands, teeth, and hair. Males and females are equally affected by Hay–Wells syndrome. No demographic has been shown to be especially susceptible to the syndrome. In the United States, Hay-Wells like syndromes occur in only one in 100,000 births. Symptoms are apparent at birth, or become apparent when atypical development of teeth occurs. Major symptoms of Hay–Wells syndrome include: sparse hair and eyelashes, missing teeth, cleft palate, cleft lip with fusing of the upper and lower eyelids, and deformed nails. Therefore, a diagnosis of Hay–Wells syndrome is largely based upon the physical clinical presentation of the patient.

Hay–Wells syndrome (also known as AEC syndrome; see "Naming") is one of at least 150 known types of ectodermal dysplasia.These disorders affect tissues that arise from the ectodermal germ layer, such as skin, hair, and nails.

The pattern of inheritance is determined by the phenotypic expression of a gene—which is called "expressivity". Camptodactyly can be passed on through generations in various levels of phenotypic expression, which include both or only one hand. This means that the genetic expressivity is incomplete. It can be inherited from either parent.

In most of its cases, camptodactyly occurs sporadically, but it has been found in several studies that it is inherited as an autosomal dominant condition.

Phakomatoses are inconsistently defined, and there is a lack of consensus about what conditions are included in this category.

Conditions included are:

- Ataxia telangiectasia

- Incontinentia pigmenti

- Neurofibromatosis

- Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome

- Sturge-Weber syndrome

- Tuberous sclerosis

- Wyburn-Mason syndrome (Bonnet–Dechaume–Blanc syndrome)

- von Hippel-Lindau disease

A recent article in 2015 reported a persistent notochord in a fetus at 23 weeks of gestation. The fetus had an abnormal spine, shortened long bones and a left clubfoot. After running postmortem tests and ultrasound, the researchers believed that the fetus suffered from hypochondrogenesis. Hypochondrogenesis is caused when type II collagen is abnormally formed due to a mutation in the COL2A1 gene. Normally, the cartilaginous notochord develops into the bony vertebrae in a human body. The COL2A1 gene results in malformed type II collagen, which is essential in the transition from collagen to bone. This is the first time that researchers found a persistent notochord in a human body due to a COL2A1 mutation.