Final answer:
Non-Mendelian inheritance refers to genetic patterns that do not follow simple dominant and recessive inheritance, including incomplete dominance, codominance, X-linked genes, multiple alleles, and lethal alleles.
Step-by-step explanation:
The non-Mendelian inheritance pattern best describes situations in which factors other than simple dominant and recessive traits affect the inheritance of genetic traits. This can include patterns such as incomplete dominance, where heterozygote exhibits a phenotype that is intermediate between the homozygous phenotypes, and codominance, where both alleles are expressed simultaneously in the heterozygote.
Furthermore, there can be multiple alleles for a gene within a population, genes linked to the X chromosome presenting distinctive inheritance patterns in males and females, as well as lethal alleles that may affect an organism's phenotype or viability.