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 read it 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 works as a pedigree chart maker, so you can assemble one accurately without drawing every symbol by hand.

In genetics, 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 SciFig applies them consistently so any geneticist can read your figure at a glance.

Reading a pedigree 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. Laying the family out generation by generation makes these patterns visible at a glance, and SciFig keeps the standard pedigree symbols accurate so your inheritance analysis holds up.

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

Describe the family in SciFig — 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 figure as a high-resolution image. Because the layout is generated from your description rather than dragged into place, a three-generation family pedigree chart takes about as long to build as it does to describe. The pedigree chart maker removes the tedious manual work of aligning squares, circles, and connecting lines by hand.

Yes. Tracing inheritance through a family diagram is one of the most common assignments in introductory and advanced biology, and this pedigree chart maker is built for teaching as much as for research, so it is fast to produce teaching examples and worksheets. Generate a labeled pedigree chart as an answer key, or a blank template for students to complete, each using the same standard pedigree symbols. Output is print-ready for slides, exams, and handouts, so instructors can build a full set of inheritance-pattern examples in minutes — every symbol and connecting line accurate, so the figure reads correctly the first time.

A genetic pedigree is a family-based inheritance diagram that uses standard pedigree symbols to show how a trait or disorder moves across generations. In practice, “genetic pedigree” and “pedigree chart” are often used interchangeably in teaching, counseling, and research settings. Whichever term your course or journal prefers, an online pedigree maker produces the same standardized figure.