Centralized databases containing clinical, patient, and pedigree information will help in understanding the role of environmental and familial factors in birth defects and genetic diseases. Reliable databases at local centers depend on an awareness of the importance of the project among clinicians and on the standardization of data collection formats. The Council of Regional Networks for Genetic Services (CORN) has suggested a data set in this connection, although international diagnostic codes (IDC) and McKusick numbers may be used at some local centers. The impact of molecular genetics on diagnostic test patterns resulted in medical genetics and will help in planning future clinical services. In addition to the birth defects information system (BDIS), which has been popular in the United States, the London dysmorphology data base, SYNDROL, and GENDIAG, all of which run on microcomputers, have widened the scope of this application to a larger number of centers.

The author has furnished references to literature from the current decade. In spite of the redundancy in the presentation, they project the state of the art of medical and genetic databases. Any researcher in a medical or genetic field can read the paper without in-depth knowledge of any specific field.