Autosomes (Gr. Autos - Self, Soma - Body)

Autosomes (from the Greek words "autos" - self and "soma" - body) are chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes. Animals, including humans, usually have paired chromosomes, with each pair consisting of one maternal and one paternal chromosome. These pairs of chromosomes are called homologous chromosomes.

However, men and women differ in the number and type of chromosomes. Men have one pair of X and Y chromosomes, which determine their gender, while women have two pairs of X chromosomes. Thus, the sex chromosomes are different in men and women, and the remaining chromosomes that are not sex chromosomes are called autosomes.

A person usually has 22 pairs of autosomes, each of which contains many genes that determine our heredity and body characteristics, such as eye color, skin type, susceptibility to certain diseases, etc.

Like sex chromosomes, autosomes have different forms called alleles, which determine different characteristics. For example, genes on autosomes can determine eye color, blood type, tendency to obesity, etc.

Autosomes also play an important role in genetic diseases. Many hereditary diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, are inherited according to an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance, i.e. In order for the disease to manifest itself, two copies of the mutation gene must be present on both autosomes.

Overall, autosomes play an important role in our genetics and determine many characteristics of our body. The study of autosomes and their genes helps us better understand our heredity and predict the presence of genetic diseases in us and our descendants.