Variation
Variation (Medicine)
Variation (pronounced: vair-ee-AY-shun) in the field of medicine refers to the differences in genetic information among individuals of a population. These differences can be due to changes in the DNA sequence, or due to changes in the number or structure of chromosomes.
Etymology
The term 'variation' comes from the Latin word 'varietas', which means 'diversity' or 'difference'.
Types of Variation
There are two main types of variation in medicine: genetic variation and phenotypic variation.
- Genetic variation refers to the differences in the genetic material of an individual. This can be due to changes in the DNA sequence, or due to changes in the number or structure of chromosomes.
- Phenotypic variation refers to the differences in the physical or physiological traits of an individual. This can be due to genetic differences, environmental factors, or a combination of both.
Related Terms
- Mutation is a change in the DNA sequence that can lead to variation.
- Polymorphism is a type of genetic variation where two or more different phenotypes exist in the same population.
- Allele is a variant form of a given gene, which can lead to variation in the phenotype.
- Genotype is the genetic makeup of an individual, which can lead to variation in the phenotype.
- Phenotype is the set of observable characteristics of an individual, which can be influenced by its genotype and environment.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Variation
- Wikipedia's article - Variation
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