Cytogenics, Karyotypes and Energizer Bunnies

BOX SCORE




Element

Current

Std. Range

Trend

Hemoglobin

9.1

13-17

-

Platelets

144

140-375

^

ANC

2400

1800-8300

^

Did you ever wonder what a karyotype is? I'm sure you have. Everybody does...I think. I mean, I believe it's a toss up whether more people ask that question or more people ask what is the area in hectares of Venezuela. Come on, be honest now. Wouldn't you agree? What do you mean you never heard of a karyotype? No it's nothing like a tintype. ["This guy is daft," I hear you saying.]

Well, in case you are one of the few people who don't know what a karyotype is, let me give you a definition from Dictionary.com. 

Karyotype*

noun - genetics

The chromosomes of a cell, usually displayed as a systematized arrangement of chromosome pairs in descending order of size. 

Now you see! Wasn't that simple? As usual, there will be a quiz next period. Don't worry though. I have no idea what the area in hectares of Venezuela is. 

Now that you know everything about karyotype that you ever wanted to know, I shall press on, dear reader. (I always love that when an author adds the address "dear reader.")

Today we received the preliminary report on my bone marrow biopsy that was performed on January 25th. It reads (in part...the important part) as follows: 

Diagnosis

Cytogen Interp

Diagnosis: 
 
Normal Male Karyotype - My January 29th post, titled "'NORMAL,' what good is it?" notwithstanding, this is good news. It says my karyotype (see above)  is "normal" for a [human] male. In my previous bone marrow  biopsy, the report indicated that I had a spare chromosome. Now a spare tire for your car can come in handy, but a spare chromosome can create all kinds of havoc and is decidedly ABnormal. 
 
As for the "46," I'm sure you remember from your middle school genetics class that humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, and 2 X 23 = 46. 
 
XY means that one of the "pairs" of chromosomes includes an X chromosome and a Y chromosome. That's the way males were made by God. Females, on the other hand have two X chromosomes, but no Y. That's how the gender of your baby is determined. If Mommy and Daddy both give baby an X chromosome, baby will come out with pink shoes on. On the other hand, since Mommy only has X chromosomes to give, if baby comes out with blue shoes on, you can bet Daddy gave baby a Y chromosome. 
"[19]" I think this was the number of cookies I ate at the last party I attended. 
Moving on to the Cytogen Interp, here's how I read that: 
 
First of all, Cytogen Interp is short for Cytogenic (look that one up; do you expect me to do all the work?) Interpretation. In other words this is what they saw looking through the microscope. 
 
What can I say about "


 *https://www.dictionary.com/browse/karyotype

 

 

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