Mendelian Inheritance in Man

The Mendelian Inheritance in Man project is a database that catalogues all the known diseases with a genetic component, and—when possible—links them to the relevant genes in the human genome and provides references for further research and tools for genomic analysis of a catalogued gene.

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Versions

It is available as a book named after the project, and it is currently in its 12th edition. The online version is called Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man™ (OMIM™), which can be accessed with the Entrez database searcher of the National Library of Medicine and is part of the NCBI project Education.

Collection process

The information in this database is collected and processed under the leadership of Dr. Victor A. McKusick at Johns Hopkins University, assisted by a team of science writers and editors. Relevant articles are identified, discussed and written up in the relevant entries in the MIM database.

The MIM code

Every disease and gene is assigned a six digit number of which the first number classifies the method of inheritance.

If the initial digit is 1, the trait is deemed autosomal dominant; if 2, autosomal recessive; if 3, X-linked. Wherever a trait defined in this dictionary has a MIM number, the number from the 12th edition of MIM, is given in square brackets with or without an asterisk (asterisks indicate that the mode of inheritance is known; a number symbol (#) before an entry number means that the phenotype can be caused by mutation in any of two or more genes) as appropriate e.g., Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease [MIM*169500] is a well-established, autosomal, dominant, mendelian disorder.

See also

• Medical classification
• Online Mendelian Inheritance in Animals
• Mouse Locus Catalogue
• Mendelian inheritance

References

• Table from the OMIM FAQ
• McKusick, VA (1998). Mendelian Inheritance in Man; A Catalog of Human Genes and Genetic Disorders. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-5742-2.