Down syndrome
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English
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Vater_und_Sohn_mit_Down-Syndrom.jpg/220px-Vater_und_Sohn_mit_Down-Syndrom.jpg)
Alternative forms
[edit]- Down’s syndrome (chiefly in the UK and Canada)
Etymology
[edit]Named after John Langdon Haydon Down (1828–1896), an English physician who first described the condition as a distinct form of mental disability in the 1860s.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /daʊn ˈsɪndɹəʊm/
- (General American) IPA(key): /daʊn ˈsɪndɹoʊm/, /-dɹəm/
Audio (General Australian): (file) - Hyphenation: Down syn‧drome
Noun
[edit]- (neurology, chiefly US, Australia, New Zealand) A genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21 (a chromosomal excess), whereby the patients typically have a delay in cognitive ability and physical growth, as well as a small head and tilted eyelids. [from 1961.]
Usage notes
[edit]The condition is known only as Down's syndrome in the UK and Canada.
Synonyms
[edit]- Down's (informal)
- mongolism, Mongolian idiocy (now offensive)
- trisomy 21
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]genetic disorder caused by a chromosomal excess
Further reading
[edit]Down syndrome on Wikipedia.Wikipedia