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autoimmune diseases
Illnesses that occur when a person's body tissues are attacked by its own immune system. The immune system is designed to find and destroy foreign invaders of the body. Patients with autoimmune diseases have unusual antibodies in their blood that target their own body tissues.
autosomal dominant
A mode of inheritance when an affected individual must possess one copy of a non-working gene and one copy of a normal gene. Males and females have an equally likely chance of inheriting the mutated gene and of being affected. The recurrance risk of each child of an affected parent is 50%.
autosomal recessive
A mode of inheritance where an affected individual must possess two copies of a non-working gene, one from each parent. Without both copies, the person will not be affected with the disease. What this means is that most children with these types of diseases will have unaffected parents. Males and females are equally likely to be affected. The recurrence risk of each child of an affected parent is 25%.
autosomal recessive pattern
The disease is passed on to a child by both parents who have an abnormal gene when the child is conceived.
bacteria
Single cell microorganisms that can live as either independent organisms or as parasites in another organisms.
benign
A tumor that does not spread to invade surrounding tissues or spread to other parts of the body. This is not cancer.
bilateral
Located on both sides of the body.
bilirubin
a product of bile breakdown that causes jaundice, which is a yellowing of the skin
biopsy
The removal of a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope. A specialist trained to examine such tissues is called a pathologist.
bone marrow
The bone marrow is the core of the bones in the body. It is responsible for producing red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.