The Gene Pool

Hemophilia is a genetic disorder that is caused by a mutation in the production of a blood clotting factor, either blood clotting factor VIII if the patient has hemophilia A or blood clotting factor IX if the patient has hemophilia. Hemophilia affects the protein that is produced which clots blood and makes "scabs"  or a crust formed by capillaries and blood which prevents blood from leaving the body and stops bruises before they become serious internal bleeding. Since the proteins that clot blood are affected this means that it is hard for hemophiliacs to participate in physical activities as it is risky to get a cut or a bruise as it is proves difficult to stop the bleeding from the source. 

 

That being said there is a way to treat hemophilia and it is relitively easy and straight forward, If the patient has hemophilia A which is more common then they will get an injection of clotting factor VIII regularly and If they have Hemophilia B they will get an injection of clotting factor IX, there is a rare/less severe case of hemophilia called hemophilia C and to treat this the patient will get an injection of clotting factor XI regularly.

 

Hemophilia is a X-linked recessive trait which means that the mutation occurs on a gene in the X chromosome, this also means that it is much less likely for a female to have hemophilia because they only have two x chromosomes and this means that both x chromosomes would need a mutation on them, females are commony carriers for hemophilia but do not show physical examples of hemophilia. This means that this mutation cannot be found on a numbered chromosome. Since hemophilia is a reccessive disorder this means that your father would have to have it and your mother would have to be a carrier for it in order for you to get it.

 

Hemophilia originates from the various royal families in Europe throughout history. This is because in the royal families there was a surplus of inbreeding in order to keep the "royal blood" in the family. Inbreeding means to reproduce with someone you are related to. The genotype for  Hemophilia is xx, im using x's because it is an x-linked trait.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources:

NIH. "How Is Hemophilia Treated?" - NHLBI, NIH. NIH, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.

 

"Coagulation Factor VIII and Hemophilia A." Coagulation Factor VIII and Hemophilia A. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.