MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: X-linked recessive genetic defects

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X-linked recessive genetic defects - how boys are affected

There are several X-linked (or sex-linked) recessive genetic disorders, (hemophilia, muscular dystrophy) which are inherited through a genetic defect on an X chromosome. A female has 2 X chromosomes, one she inherited from her mother and one she got from her father. A male has an X chromosome from his mother and a Y chromosome from his father. Since male offspring receive their X chromosome from their mothers, the inheritance of a defect attached to that one copy of the X will cause the disorder.

Update Date: 8/11/2006

Updated by: Brian Kirmse, MD, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Human Genetics, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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