How could a pedigree be used by a genetic counselor

A pedigree is used to find the ancestry and lineage of a particular person. This also involves the study of the inheritance of traits down the lineage. A genetic counselor can study a pedigree and advise an individual or couple on the possible expected traits of their offspring or future generation. This can be used to warn a couple of possibilities of their offspring bearing recessive traits such as sickle cell or albinism. This is because parents can be carriers - and not show in their phenotype - but can pass down the recessive alleles to the child who will exhibit it in phenotype if it shows up in the homozygous recessive form.

A pedigree can be described as a diagram which illustrates a family tree. The pedigree shows the parents and their offsprings across many generations and particular characteristics or traits which are present in individuals of the family tree.

The pedigrees are the easiest ways which genetic counselors use to determine the risk of various genetic conditions. The genetic counselors can determine what will be the chances of the upcoming offsprings to carry a genetic disorder if the disorder runs in the pedigree.