Question

Hypertrichosis is a
A. Holandric character
B. X linked character
C. Diagenic character
D. Sex influenced character

Answer 1

Hypertrichosis is an excessive growth of hair on a particular area of the body which is abnormal for the age, sex or race of an individual.

Complete Answer:
- Hypertrichosis is a rare and curious condition that causes excessive hair growth anywhere on a person’s body. Hypertrichosis is sometimes known as werewolf syndrome.
- A number of studies have shown that the inheritance of the trait is from father to son, any exceptions can be attributed to the lack of penetrance of the gene or crossing over from Y to X chromosome.
- The two distinct types of hypertrichosis are generalized hypertrichosis, which occurs over the entire body, and localized hypertrichosis, which is restricted to a certain area.
(I) Hypertrichosis can be either congenital (present at birth) or acquired later in life. The excess growth of hair occurs in areas of the skin with the exception of androgen-dependent hair of the pubic area, face, and axillary regions.
(II) Holandric inheritance: Inheritance of genes on the Y chromosome. Because only males normally have Y chromosomes, Y-linked genes can only be transmitted from father to son.

Hence correct answer is option A.

Note: Hypertrichosis may be confused with hirsutism. Hirsutism is a more common condition that causes women to grow coarse hair in areas that men typically do, such as on their chin.