Down syndrome

Alternative forms

• Down’s syndrome

Etymology

Named after John Langdon Haydon Down (1828–1896), an English physician who first described the condition as a distinct form of mental disability in the 1860s.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /daʊn ˈsɪndɹəʊm/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /daʊn ˈsɪndɹoʊm/, /-dɹəm/
• Hyphenation: Down syn‧drome

Proper noun

Down syndrome

1. (neurology, chiefly US) A medical condition caused by a chromosomal excess, whereby the patients bear a certain resemblance to the Mongoloid race, such as a small head and tilted eyelids, and typically have a delay in cognitive ability and physical growth. [from 1961.]

Further reading

• Down syndrome on Wikipedia.Wikipedia