Final answer:
Genetics is the field of biology focused on the study of heredity and inheritance patterns. Johanna Gregor Mendel's pioneering work established the fundamental principles of this field, which includes understanding inheritance patterns and genetic disorders.
Step-by-step explanation:
The field of biology that studies heredity and its transmission patterns is called genetics. Genetics involves understanding how characteristics are passed from parents to offspring, and this field of study was significantly advanced by the works of Johann Gregor Mendel, a pioneer in genetics, who introduced the fundamental principles of heredity using statistical analysis and large sample sizes. Many human traits are inherited in a predictable pattern, revealing inheritance patterns such as autosomal dominance, autosomal recessiveness, X-linked dominance and recessiveness, incomplete dominance, codominance, and in some cases, lethality.
Mendel's work paved the way for our current understanding of genetic disorders and the means to estimate the likelihood that a child will inherit a genetic condition. Geneticists can use methods like pedigree analysis and molecular genetics to study inheritance. Although not all traits follow Mendelian inheritance, Mendel's methodology and conclusions provide a critical foundation for the field of genetics and how it relates to heredity.