Final answer:
Ectodermal dysplasia can be inherited as both an autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive disorder, depending on the specific type. Dominant forms require only one defective gene to express the condition, while recessive forms require two.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ectodermal dysplasia encompasses a group of genetic disorders that can be inherited in both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive patterns, depending on the specific variant of the condition. While some forms of ectodermal dysplasia follow a dominant inheritance pattern, meaning only one defective gene from one parent is enough to manifest the condition, other forms are recessive, requiring two copies of the defective gene (one from each parent) for the condition to appear. In autosomal dominant disorders, an individual with only one copy of the faulty gene will express the disorder, whereas in autosomal recessive disorders, both copies must be defective for the condition to be phenotypically expressed.