Why people with Downs Syndrome have similar facial features, regardless of race?

Answer 1

It was originally called Mongolism or Mongolian Idiocy, after a perceived resemblance observed by John Langdon Haydon Down between the faces of some of his patients with Down syndrome and the Mongoloid race. Presently, it is known as Down’s syndrom named after him who first described the condition.



Kids with Down syndrome tend to share certain physical features such as a flat facial profile, an upward slant to the eyes, small ears, a single crease across the center of the palms, and an enlarged tongue. A doctor can usually tell if a newborn has the condition through a physical exam.


Trisomy 21 (nondisjunction) is caused by a faulty cell division that results in the baby having three #21 chromosomes instead of two. Prior to or at conception, a pair of #21
chromosomes in either the egg or the sperm fails to separate properly. The extra chromosome is replicated in every cell of the body. Ninety five percent of all people with Down"s syndrome have Trisomy 21. Trisomy 21 is always an accident of nature. It can happen to anyone and it is not known why it occurs.

Symptoms of Down's Syndrome:

Reduced muscle tone which results in floppines (hypotonia ).

· A flat facial profile, flat nasal bridge, small nose;

· Eyes that slant upwards and outwards, often with a fold of skin that runs vertically between the lids at the inner corner of the eye (epicanthic fold);

· A small mouth which makes the tongue seem slightly large;

· A big space between the first and second toe (sandal gap);

· Broad hands with short fingers and a little finger that curves inwards. The palm may have only one crease across it (single palmar crease);

· A below average birth weight and length at birth

Many of these features are found in the general population. Therefore a chromosome test (karyotype) would need to be carried out before a positive diagnosis could be made. This is done by analyzing the chromosomes in the blood cells especially chromosome 21.


Keep in mind that since 1866, those with Down syndrome were called mongoloids, a term “rooted in Dr. J. Langdon Down’s original classification scheme in which he reorganized the general categories of congenital idiocy. This term truly segregated students from the mainstream population. “The struggle for community membership views segregation of people with disabilities as an act diminishing society as a whole in its banishment of particular sets of experiences from the relationships that make up a community’s richness . The word “defect,” often used to describe Down syndrome, is no more than “a social meaning. It becomes necessary to repudiate that concept.


Diversity…emerges from individual differences – variability in intelligence, personality, physical agility…that are seen within any single group.


As with other autosomal recessive diseases; Down syndrome is a genetic disorder in the chromosome 21. So this is not a familial disease such as sickle-cell anemia common among the African natives or the Tay- Sachs or Thalassemia blood disorder common among Jews. So race doesn't play into it. Therefore, the facial features are identical to all Down syndrome patients.

Answer 2

Because of the CNS damage that Downs does to your face is the same no matter what your race is. Perhaps slightly different if you are asian because of the eyes or something really really minute, other than that, the CNS affects facial features just the same no matter race/gender/ethnicity/etc

Answer 3

I think it's partly because they often have low muscle tone, and sometimes smaller mouths. What we consider to identify some one as a certain "race" is actually a very, very small part of our DNA.

Answer 4

Because it's chromosomal disorder, that's why. It affects development. And I agree, it has nothing to do with race.

Answer 5

When it comes to chromosomes color has almost no relevance.