What is a family history?
A family history is the story of one’s genetic origins. Family histories can provide important clues to the cause of a problem or to the type of testing that should be considered. The taking of a family history involves questions about the health/developmental status of parents, siblings, their offspring and distant relatives, whether they are living or dead. It involves information about miscarriages and early deaths. It involves questions about ethnicity and family origin. During the evaluation, we will construct a family tree. There are two major reasons why this information is important. For the dysmorphologist, alterations in form are significant only if they are unusual for a particular family. Understanding an individuals genetic background may help interpret certain physical differences. For example, a low nasal bridge would be unusual in a 10-year-old boy whose parents were both of Scandinavian origin. This finding might be completely normal in a 10-year-old boy whose parents
