Skip to main content
autosomal recessive disease

autosomal recessive disease

5.4
A disease that appears when a child gets two copies of a faulty gene on a non-sex chromosome
  • noun
  • /ˌɔːtəˈsoʊməl rɪˈsɛsɪv dɪˈziːz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : enfermedad autosómica recesiva
  • Both parents must be carriers for a child to inherit an autosomal recessive disease.

Examples

  • Cystic fibrosis is a classic example of an autosomal recessive disease affecting the lungs and digestive system.

  • Genetic counseling can help families understand the risk of passing on an autosomal recessive disease.

  • Cystic fibrosis is an example of an autosomal recessive disease.

  • Many autosomal recessive diseases are inherited from both parents.

  • Cystic fibrosis is a well-known autosomal recessive disease that affects both the lungs and digestive system.

  • If both parents are carriers, their child has a chance of developing an autosomal recessive disease.

  • Many couples seek genetic counseling to understand their risk of having a child with an autosomal recessive disease.

Synonyms

autosomal recessive defect
vsautosomal recessive disease
  • Specialized
7.7

A genetic condition caused when a child gets two faulty copies of the same gene on a non-sex chromosome

is the more common clinical term for the same inherited condition

How Sex-Linked

Y-linked gene
  • Specialized
7.5
X-linked gene
  • Specialized
7.1
sex-linked disorder
  • Specialized
6.2
autosomal recessive disease
  • Specialized
5.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

autosomal + recessive + disease

This is a fully compositional technical term: 'autosomal' specifies non-sex chromosomes and 'recessive' specifies the inheritance pattern, so together with 'disease' it denotes a disease caused by a recessive gene on an autosome (i.e., manifesting when the recessive allele is present in the required combination). The meaning follows straightforward adjective+noun composition used in scientific English and would be derivable by a learner who knows the constituent words and their definitions.

Etymology

Autosomal recessive disease comes from how genes work: autosomal means the gene is on a regular, 'non-sex chromosome', and recessive means the faulty gene is 'hidden' unless a person gets the same faulty copy from both parents. So the disease only appears when someone inherits two bad copies of the gene.