“Genomic Coordinate”, Victor McKusick, Mendelian Inheritance in Man, 1966.

1. Genomic coordinate as “atomic nosology”
Modern genomic coordinates  function as atomic-resolution nosology. A disease locus is no longer just a chromosomal band or gene name, but a precise chemical position on the DNA polymer:
a defined strand,
a defined direction (5′→3′),
and ultimately a defined atom-level location in the backbone–base structure.
This is exactly how clinical genetics moved from phenotype → gene → genomic coordinate.

2. Linus Pauling’ and “molecular disease”
Linus Pauling’ term “molecular disease” (1949, sickle-cell anemia) did not originally refer to nucleotide polymorphisms.
Linus Pauling’ showed that disease could arise from a specific molecular alteration—in his case, a protein electrophoretic difference (hemoglobin).
The nucleotide change (Glu→Val via a single base substitution) was identified later.
So:
Linus Pauling’: molecular disease = disease caused by a discrete molecular change
Modern genetics: often operationalized as single-nucleotide variants (SNVs/SNPs), but that vocabulary postdates Linus Pauling’

3. Atomic definition of a genomic coordinate.
The description of the sugar–phosphate backbone is chemically sound, and with refinement:
A genomic coordinate ultimately maps to a specific phosphodiester unit, defined by:
5′ phosphate (P)
3′ oxygen (O3′)
C1′ of the pentose, which forms the β–N–glycosidic bond to the base
N9 for purines
N1 for pyrimidines
So the “atomic triangulation” is stated as:
P (5′) – O3′ – C1′ (base attachment)
That triangle uniquely fixes:
strand polarity
backbone position
base identity and orientation
This is why a genomic coordinate is not just “a letter,” but a specific chemical locus in a polymer.
4. Bottom line thesis.
Genomic coordinates = chemical addresses.
Disease classification (nosology) now resolves to single atoms and bonds
Linus Pauling’ insight made this inevitable, even if the nucleotide language came later
In Short:
Modern genomics practices Linus Pauling’ molecular medicine at atomic resolution using genomic coordinates.