ABSTRACT
Cytogenetics is a relatively young science. The correct number of chromo somes in humans was established less than 50 years ago ( 1 ) . The current explosion of knowledge in the field of human and medical genetics is aston ishing, with discoveries being made monthly and sometimes weekly. Pro gress has accelerated in the last few years, as a result of the advent of the Human Genome Project, whose goals include mapping all of the estimated 50,000 to 1 00,000 human genes and sequencing the estimated 3 billion nu cleotides in a haploid set of chromosomes. In this chapter we trace the history of cytogenetics in a nonsystematic, somewhat nostalgic fashion.
