| etiology | <study> A branch of knowledge concerned with the causes of particular phenomena, specifically a branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases. The study of factors of causation or those associated with the causation of disease or abnormal body states. Origin: L. Aetiologia, Gr. Aitiologia. (09 Feb 1998) |
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| multifactorial | Referring to multiple factors. (12 Dec 1998) |
| multifactorial inheritance | Type of hereditary pattern seen with a combination of genetic factors, sometimes with environmental influence. Skin colour, for example, is multifactorially determined. (12 Dec 1998) |
| multifactorial or multigenic disorders | Genetic disorders resulting from the combined action of alleles of more than one gene (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers). Although such disorders are inherited, they depend on the simultaneous presence of several alleles, thus the hereditary patterns are usually more complex than those of single- gene disorders. Compare single-gene disorders. (05 Mar 2000) |