congenital malformation of the skeleton affecting the skull and limbs. The disorder most often is hereditary, but it may appear spontaneously. The head appears pointed (acrocephaly) because of premature closing of the cranial sutures between the individual bones that make up the skull. The bones and skin of several adjacent fingers or toes may be fused (syndactyly); in some cases all five digits may fuse. Deformity of the skull causes the eyes to bulge because the eye sockets are shallower than normal. Other congenital abnormalities, such as heart defects, also may be present. Treatment includes surgical correction of the skull. The disease was first described by the French pediatrician Eugène Apert. See also craniosynostosis.