Reading Family Traits in Pedigrees

Pedigrees are family trees used to track how a trait passes through generations. They help scientists and students see whether a trait is dominant or recessive, whether it is autosomal or sex-linked, what genotypes family members may have, and what phenotypes may appear in future generations. For families with a history of i...

To understand how traits or disorders are inherited in humans, scientists analyze family trees also known as pedigrees.

In a typical pedigree, squares denote males, circles indicate females and a horizontal line between these shapes represents a mating.

If such a union produces children, a perpendicular line is drawn down from th...