GENETICS, HUMAN

study of the inheritance of characteristics by children from parents. Inheritance in humans does not differ in any fundamental way from that in other organisms. The study of human heredity occupies a central position in genetics. Much of this interest stems from a basic desire to know who humans are and why they are as they are. At a more practical level, an understanding of human heredity is of critical importance in the prediction, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases that have a genetic component. The quest to determine the genetic basis of human health has given rise to the field of medical genetics. In general, medicine has given focus and purpose to human genetics, so that the terms medical genetics and human genetics are often considered synonymous. Additional reading Curt Stern, Principles of Human Genetics, 3rd ed. (1973), is a classic work thoroughly covering the field. Alan E.H. Emery and David L. Rimon (eds.), Principles and Practice of Human Genetics, 2 vol. (1983), presents an up-to-date, thorough treatment of medical genetics. Victor A. McKusick, Mendelian Inheritance in Man: Catalogue of Autosomal Dominant, Autosomal Recessive, and X-Linked Phenotypes, 6th ed. (1983), is an informative source. Aubrey Milunsky and George J. Annas (eds.), Genetics and the Law II (1980), presents papers on ethics, eugenics, genetics, and the law. See also such symposium and conference proceedings as Ernest B. Hook and Ian H. Porter (eds.), Population Cytogenetics: Studies in Humans (1977); and Charles J. Epstein et al. (eds.), Risk, Communication, and Decision Making in Genetic Counseling (1979). Arthur Robinson