Title: Heredity | definition of heredity by Medical dictionary
Headings: heredity
heredity
heredity
he·red·i·ty
heredity
heredity
he·red·i·ty
heredity
heredity
he·red·i·ty
Patient discussion about heredity
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Content: A male, however, having only one X chromosome, will be color blind if that chromosome has the recessive gene, since there is no corresponding dominant gene to suppress it. It is possible for a female to be color blind, if she has two of the recessive genes, but it is quite rare that these two genes come together in one person. Another characteristic associated with sex is baldness. The gene for baldness is dominant in males and recessive in females. Thus a male need have only one gene for baldness for the trait to be expressed, but a female must have two. Hereditary Diseases. These should be distinguished from congenital birth defects. A congenital defect is one that the infant is born with, such as a cleft lip, a birthmark, or congenital syphilis, but the defect can arise during conception or pregnancy and not be related to heredity. Hereditary diseases, on the other hand, are passed from generation to generation by genes. Some diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, are transmitted by recessive genes.