You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Constructing history and pedigree

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

The history is taken from the person who the disease is affecting - the proband - or his/ her family if young. The history is medically-oriented with emphasis on familial conditions.

Next, the family pedigree is constructed. By convention, males are traditionally placed on the left and all people in the same generation are placed on the same horizontal level. Each successive generation is demarcated with a new Roman numeral. For each member of the pedigree, name and age are included. For each set of parents, the offspring are given in birth order with the eldest on the left.

Miscarriages, neonatal deaths and consanguinity may need to be enquired about in specific contexts.

Pedigree symbols include: symbol meaning

square, unfilled normal male
square, filled affected male
circle, unfilled normal female
circle, filled affected female
circle with cross in centre stillbirth
small circle, filled abortion
line through square/ circle deceased
arrow next to square/ circle the proband Symbols are joined by lines to indicate the relationship between individuals.

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page