What are some of the different types of multifactorial traits and diseases?
Examples of multifactorial traits and diseases include: height, neural tube defects, and hip dysplasia. • Height Height is determined by both genetic and environmental factors. Some people may be exceptionally short or exceptionally tall, often due to some gene with a major effect on height. Otherwise, children are often a height similar to, or “in-between” their parents, or simply closer to the population average. • Neural tube defects Neural tube defects, spina bifida (open spine) and anencephaly (open skull), are seen in one in every 2000 live births per year. During pregnancy, the human brain and spine begin as a flat plate of cells, which rolls into a tube, called the neural tube. If all or part of the neural tube fails to close, leaving an opening, this is known as an open neural tube defect, or ONTD. This opening may be left exposed (80 percent of the time), or covered with bone or skin (20 percent of the time). Anencephaly and spina bifida are the most common ONTDs, while encep
