Mendelian
Classical inheritance theory
Mendelian describes inheritance patterns following the principles discovered by Gregor Mendel in the 1860s—traits passed through discrete units (genes) with dominant and recessive forms.
A Mendelian disorder like cystic fibrosis follows predictable inheritance ratios: The disease is Mendelian, so we can calculate the odds for their children.
Non-Mendelian inheritance involves more complex mechanisms.
Property received from ancestors
- dominantHaving superior influence
- recessiveMasked unless paired identically
- alleleGene variant at one locus
- genotypeOrganism's complete allele set
phenotype · segregation · assortment · trait · hybridization · monohybrid · heterozygous · homozygous
Disorder impairing normal function
- cysticRelating to sacs
- sickleCurved hand-held harvesting blade
- HuntingtonCity in West Virginia
- hemophiliaGenetic clotting impairment
albinism · Tay-Sachs · carrier · mutation · inherited · screening · counseling · pedigree
Male given name
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
- BrnoMoravian regional capital
- AugustineFourth-century church father
- 1860sSeventh decade, nineteenth century
rediscovery · experiments · garden · botany · abbot · Austrian · naturalist · Darwin
inheritance
Property received from ancestors
- dominantHaving superior influence
- recessiveMasked unless paired identically
- alleleGene variant at one locus
genotype · phenotype · segregation · assortment · trait · hybridization · monohybrid · heterozygous · homozygous · crossbreeding
disease
Disorder impairing normal function
- cysticRelating to sacs
- sickleCurved hand-held harvesting blade
- HuntingtonCity in West Virginia
hemophilia · albinism · Tay-Sachs · carrier · mutation · inherited · screening · counseling · pedigree · recurrence
Gregor
Male given name
- monasteryReligious seclusion dwelling
- BrnoMoravian regional capital
- AugustineFourth-century church father
1860s · rediscovery · experiments · garden · botany · abbot · Austrian · naturalist · Darwin · overlooked
- EponymsDarwinian, Alzheimer's disease, Freudian slip, cardigan, Parkinson's disease
- hereditygenes, DNA, gene, chromosomes, genetics
- geneticsDNA, allele, genotype, genes, gene
- breedingselective breeding, breeder, crossbreeding, mating, breeding pair
- hybridizationhybridization, crossbreeding, interbreeding, cross-pollination, hybrid vigor
Mendelianepigenetic
Affecting gene expression, not sequence
polygenic · multifactorial · Lamarckian · maternal inheritance · quantitative