Sana Nimer Abu Shihab

Your Easy Way to Chromosomes Sana Nimer Abu Shihab

These days, hardly a week goes by in the media, without mention of a remarkable advancement in the field of genetics. Cytogenetics is a branch of genetics that is concerned with the study of the structure and function of the chromosomes and their role in heredity. Every individual inherits a pair of chromosomes from each of his parents. Each cell in our body has 46 chromosomes each. Chromosomes carry genetic information in the form of genes. The genes within the chromosomes have a powerful impact on our health, either directly through chromosomal or single gene disorders or by influencing our susceptibility to disease. Cytogenetic study is performed in order to diagnose certain genetic disorders such as; congenital birth defects, mental retardation, growth and developmental delay, defects of sexual development, ambiguous genitalia, congenital defects, abnormal facial features, infertility, multiple miscarriages, amenorrhea, autism, malignancies and hematological disorders, early embryonic death, and gene mutations among others. These can be identified by chromosomal analysis and molecular cytogenetic techniques such as Fluorescent in Situ Hybridization (FISH) and Microarray, which have enormously expanded in recent years.