Haemophilia


Robert Morris


In the human body, each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, one of each
pair inherited through the egg from the mother, and the other inherited through
the sperm of the father. Of these chromosomes, those that determine sex are X
and Y. Females have XX and males have XY. In addition to the information on sex,
'the X chromosomes carry determinants for a number of other features of the
body including the levels of factor VIII and factor IX.'1 If the genetic
information determining the factor VIII and IX level is defective, haemophilia
results. When this happens, the protein factors needed for normal blood
clotting are effected. In males, the single X chromosome that is effected
cannot compensate for the lack, and hence will show the defect. In females,
however, only one of the two chromosomes will be abnormal. (unless she is
unlucky enough to inherit haemophilia from both sides of the family, which is
rare.)2 The other chromosome is likely to be......

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Title: Haemophilia
Approximate Word Count: 1095
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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