Pedigree Chart Maker

A pedigree chart is a family diagram that tracks a trait across generations. It uses standard pedigree symbols to show each individual's sex and affected status, with connecting lines for matings and offspring. Geneticists and genetic counselors use a pedigree chart to identify carriers, predict the risk to future children, and determine whether a trait follows an autosomal dominant, autosomal recessive, or X-linked inheritance pattern. SciFig's pedigree chart maker lets you assemble one accurately without drawing every symbol by hand.

In a genetics pedigree chart, a square represents a male and a circle represents a female. A filled (shaded) symbol marks an affected individual, while an unfilled symbol is unaffected. A horizontal line between a square and a circle is a mating line, and a vertical line drops down to their children. A diagonal line through a symbol indicates a deceased individual, and a dot inside a symbol can flag a known carrier. These standard pedigree symbols are universal, and the SciFig pedigree chart maker applies them consistently so any geneticist can read your chart at a glance.

Reading a pedigree chart means looking at how affected individuals are distributed across generations. If the trait appears in every generation and affected parents usually have affected children, it is likely autosomal dominant. If it skips generations and affected children come from unaffected carrier parents, it is likely autosomal recessive. If mostly males are affected and the trait passes through unaffected mothers, an X-linked recessive pattern is indicated. A family pedigree chart makes these patterns visible at a glance, and SciFig's tool keeps the standard pedigree symbols accurate so your inheritance analysis holds up.

On an autosomal pedigree chart, males and females are affected in roughly equal numbers because the gene sits on a non-sex chromosome. On an X-linked recessive pedigree chart, affected individuals are predominantly male, the trait often appears to skip a generation through unaffected carrier mothers, and an affected father never passes the trait to his sons. Distinguishing these two cases is a core genetics skill, and a clearly drawn genetics pedigree chart with correct standard pedigree symbols makes the difference obvious to students and reviewers alike.

With SciFig's pedigree chart maker you describe the family — how many generations, who is affected, and the suspected inheritance pattern — and the AI lays out a complete pedigree chart using standard pedigree symbols. You can then relabel individuals, fill or unfill symbols to update affected status, add or remove generations, and export the finished family pedigree chart as a high-resolution image. This pedigree chart generator removes the tedious manual work of aligning squares, circles, and connecting lines by hand.

Yes. A genetics pedigree chart is one of the most common assignments in introductory and advanced biology, and SciFig makes it fast to produce teaching examples and worksheets. Generate a labeled family pedigree chart as an answer key, or a blank pedigree chart template for students to complete, each using the same standard pedigree symbols. The pedigree chart generator outputs print-ready figures for slides, exams, and handouts, so instructors can build a full set of inheritance-pattern examples in minutes. As a pedigree maker built for genetics, this pedigree maker keeps every symbol and line accurate so your chart reads correctly the first time.