A geneticist deals with the issues of inheritance of traits, congenital and hereditary diseases. A geneticist, with the help of many diagnostic tools, is able to detect the cause and origin of diseases, e.g. neurological ones. People who inherit diseases that occur in the family should come to a geneticist's appointment.
Geneticistis not a specialist who is visited as often as a pediatrician, ENT or gynecologist. He is a specialist whom we visit only for a few, but very important reasons. The very name " geneticist " comes from the Greek "genesis", meaning the beginning. A geneticist studies inheritance - it is genes made of DNA and RNA that are responsible for it.
Cabinetgeneticsvisit couples planning a child whose families have hereditary diseases, as well as those who are already expecting offspring and would like to obtain information about the occurrence (or no) he has a genetic defect. In order to obtain a proper diagnosis related to hereditary diseases, this specialist also visits parents of already born children. The geneticist also helps couples who are unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant.
You need a referral to go to a geneticist. You can also arrange a private appointment.
Another geneticist deals with parenting is paternity testing. The specialist compares the genetic profile of the child and the (alleged) father, and if the child is not yet born - the blood of the future mother and the potential father is drawn.
Geneticists are also visited by adults who want to prevent the occurrence of genetic diseases and determine the probability that they will also become ill. For this purpose, they go to a geneticist, especially people whose families have cancer. It is worth adding that only about 5% of all cancers are hereditary. Among them, however, there is breast cancer, the most common among Polish women, as well as ovarian cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer, and colorectal cancer.
Thanks to the obtained results, the geneticist can develop appropriate methods of preventive actions.
Molecular diagnosis of cancer
Gene inheritance, or influencecombinations of genes for our appearance, character and temperament
What do we inherit from our ancestors?
ImportantClinical geneticist vs molecular geneticist
Clinical (medical) geneticistis a doctor we go to for the above-mentioned reasons - he takes preventive measures and treats people from families with an increased genetic risk.
On the other hand,molecular geneticistis not a doctor, but a biologist who works in a laboratory: he studies how genes are formed and how genetic information is transferred. The goal of molecular geneticists is to learn about the human genome.
Patients therefore go to a clinical geneticist, not a molecular geneticist.
What does a visit to a geneticist look like?
When going to a geneticist appointment, you should prepare all your medical documentation related to the reason for your visit: planned pregnancy, course of pregnancy, cancer prophylaxis, etc. It is also important to prepare information on diseases and defects in the family.
The geneticist will collect a detailed interview from the patient, and on its basis he will establish a diagnostic plan, including will refer you to appropriate tests, e.g. molecular tests or karyotyping. Genetic testing involves taking a sample of the patient's blood or, less frequently, some other type of material, such as in the case of a paternity test on a cheek swab.
After receiving the test results during the next visit, the doctor interprets them and determines the further course of treatment / prevention. Usually it is enough to go to the geneticist several times.
Inheritance - what does genetics decide?
Diseases and genes - tendencies to many diseases are hereditary
How is gene damage detected in varieties of lung cancer?