[Atrioventricular septal defect. Anatomopathologic study and embryological correlation].

Atrioventricular septal defect is a complex congenital heart disease in which cardiac septation is deficient especially at atrioventricular and ventricular levels. The anatomopathologic experience at the National Institute of Cardiology "Ignacio Chávez" is described; an anatomo-embryological correlation was made to gain an insight of the pathogenesis. Seventy hearts were analyzed morphologically with the sequential segmentary system.