title: The inheritance and development of cup and disc diameters.
abstract: The familial resemblances in discs diameter (d) and cup diameter residual (e) were studied in 845 individuals forming 297 families and 1040 pairs of spouses and first-degree relatives. The cup diameter residual was computed as the difference between the observed cup diameter and the cup diameter expected from the disc diameter and the age, according to a multiple regression equation. The results for d and e were similar. Spouses did not resemble each other at all. The resemblance between first-degree relatives, on the other hand, was quite substantial. There were no major influences of sex-linkage, dominance or common environment and no obvious maternal effects. It was concluded that the familial resemblance was essentially additively genetic in origin. The heritability was estimated at 2/3. The remaining variance was attributed to errors of development. The results can be applied to other surface dimensions of the optic nerve head.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009898:Optic Disk / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D009900:Optic Nerve / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010641:Phenotype; D012044:Regression Analysis