Dwarfism is defined as a child whose height is below the 3rd percentile of the growth curve or two standard deviations below the normal mean.
Dwarfism is partly caused by organic diseases and partly caused by non-diseases. The causes of disease include endocrine abnormalities, skeletal lesions or other diseases, among which growth hormone deficiency is the most common. The second cause is precocious puberty, and some are caused by intrauterine growth retardation or chromosomal abnormalities. Non-disease causes of short stature include familial short stature, somatic short stature, and delayed physiological puberty.