A Man with Syndactyly, an Autosomal-Dominant Condition, Has One Child

question 10

Multiple Choice

A man with syndactyly, an autosomal-dominant condition, has one child who also has syndactyly. His unaffected wife states, "Because the risk for having a child withthis problem is 50% and our first child has the problem, the next child will not be affected." What is the best response to this statement?

• A)"That is not quite true because the risk is 50% with each pregnancy, so with all future children, you would have a 50% risk."
• B)"That is not quite true because you could also have the mutation but not show the problem if there is variable expressivity."
• C)"That is correct, but if you have more than two children, half of them will have syndactyly, and 50% will not have it."
• D)"That is correct, and if you only have two children, the second one will not have syndactyly."

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