DOCTRINAL EXPERT MEDICINE IN A BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL EPISTEMOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE CONCEPTS OF EPIGENESIS AND EPIGENETICS

Introduction: This article aims to address the topic of doctrinal expert medicine in a biopsychosocial epistemological study of the concepts of epigenesis and epigenetics from a perspective that contemplates the biological, psychic and social approaches, both from the aspects of physiological normality and from the perspective of psychic and physical pathology. Method: Historical conceptual research of a qualitative, critical and prospective nature of the terms “epigenesis” and “epigenetics”. This study raised historical and current texts that deal with these concepts and proposed a philosophical and biopsychosocial approach to their meaning, presenting an original doctrine for applying them to expert and forensic medicine. Discussion: It is known that the term epigenesis was coined by Aristotle to explain the evolution of living beings after their basic training, for example syngamy. The term epigenetics was created by Waddington to explain the causal study of development, that is, to identify and understand what causes the development of living beings. The terms epigenesis and epigenetics evolved in conceptual terms. The meaning of the word epigenesis was given greater scope, applied to different scenarios. The different meanings of the term epigenetics evolved to the point where it defines an area of biology that uses its best-known methods: DNA methylation, histone modification and the expression of non-coding RNA, that is to say the entire process of heritable changes and reversible gene alterations that do not impact DNA. Conclusion: The study carried out and included in this article showed that both concepts are contextualized in a broad environment based on the biopsychosocial aspects of scientific knowledge.