The nurse is developing a teaching plan for parents who need genetic counseling.

1 -- A basic understanding of the cell, DNA, cell division, and chromosomes is important for young families receiving genetic counseling. The cell nucleus contains about six feet of DNA that are tightly wound and packaged into 23 pairs of chromosomes, making a complete set of 46 chromosomes. There are two copies of each chromosome. One copy, or half of the complete set of these 46 chromosomes, is inherited from the mother, and the other copy is inherited from the father. Chromosomes are numbered according to size, with chromosome #1 being the largest and chromosome 22 being the smallest. The first 22 pairs of chromosomes are alike in males and females. The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, determines an individual’s gender. A female has two copies of the X chromosomes and a male has one X chromosome and a Y chromosome. These X and Y chromosomes are known as sex chromosomes.

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