Family inherited features (not DNA testing)

[Pejic]

Does anyone know of any research/reports of studies regarding odd abnormalities in families?

For example extra digits,multiple births.

In my family we have 2 I know of

1. The white flash o hair at the center of the forehead (my mother and her brother)

2. A hairless penny sized ring under the right lower jaw (me and my cousin)

[Annie65115]

The medical archives are full of reports about genetic illnesses; obviously being able to sequence the genome will lead to a lot more research but there is still a lot of info around, based on observation and painstaking family studies.

Any deafness in your family to go with the white streak of hair?
Check out Waardenburg syndrome - as a possible?

For recognised genetic disorders, this is a good support/info site

http://www.geneticalliance.org.uk/

[pinefamily]

I know multiple births are more prevalent in some families than others, but is there any medical evidence to back it up?
I am curious on this myself.

[bykerlads]

Two small points of resemblance in our family:
-My son and his girl cousin ( my bro's girl) both have the same molar tooth which grew twisted through 180 degrees- no problem aesthetically or medically to them but interesting especially as they are of similar age and look very alike- like twins.
- My dad and I both have a similarly shaped flat "cafe au lait"-type mark in the same place on the thigh- my son has the same mark in same place but it is white, has no colour/pigmentation.
Not medical things at all, but does make you wonder what else is passed down with the genes.

[Cell]

Does anyone know of any research/reports of studies regarding odd abnormalities in families?

1. The white flash o hair at the center of the forehead (my mother and her brother).

My hubby's friend , all of his siblings have this ( there are 8 of them ) their father and grandmother the same. The children of the 8 all have it, the next generation. Without naming them, because everyone in the area knows them- from the white streak. It's pretty amazing.

I am double jointed on two  of my toes on both feet ( the one next to your big toe and the other next to the  little toe ), my father the same, and my son the same -exactly the same toes .

Kind regards

[bykerlads]

I once worked in a school where one lad had a white streak of hair in the centre at the front- his nickname was "badge" (he was quite good-humoured about this)- it took me a while to realise it was short for badger. With the advent of the fashion to highlighted hair, he looked rather stylish, as did his sister who had the same feature.

[Redroger]

I am told and my slender experience of the surname seems to confirm it, that people surnamed Haresign have a very high frequency of the deformity hare lip in their families.

Many years ago I knew a large family of 10 or 11 children where their father and all his sons  had a cleft palate, and their speech was very difficult to understand, conversely the daughters were apparently normal.

[Pejic]

I have heard the same about people called Crooktoe and I believe one of the the Scottish clans had many more than usual left handed people - to such an extent that the spiral staircases in their castles went the other way (I'm thinking Cameron, but not certain).

[Redroger]

Whether that is the case with Scottish castles I don't know, but Norman castles incorporated such a system in their defences to ensure that attacking forces were exposed on their right hand sides and unable to deflect missiles with their shields.