Overview
Male pattern baldness is a sex-linked characteristic that is passed from mother to child. A man can more accurately predict his chances of developing male pattern baldness by observing his mother's father than by looking at his own father.
Review Date 4/14/2015
Updated by: Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, Atlanta Center for Dermatologic Disease, Atlanta, GA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.