STUDY SESSION 7

RACE AND IDENTITY

7.INTRODUCTION
The popular saying that blood is thicker than water gained more popularity among Africans as a
result of close relationship and family ties. In this study session, you are going to applythis
saying in order to havea holistic understanding of the inheritance of different blood group
systems among people related by descent.

A blood type (also called a blood group) is a classification of blood based on the presence or
absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These
antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood
group system. Some of these antigens are also present on the surface of other types of cells of
various tissues. Blood types are inherited and represent contributions from both parents.

7.1.1 Study Session 7 Learning Outcomes

At the end of this study session you should be able to
 List different blood groups in ABO system
 Mention the significant antigens in Rhesus blood system
 discuss blood transfusion and compatibility
 describe how sex is determined in human beings
 highlight the relationship between maternal’s age and risk of genetic abnormalities.

7.2 BLOOD GROUP AND TRANSFUSION

The two most significant blood group systems were discovered by Karl Landsteiner, a Viennese
physician and a Nobel Prize winner during early experiments with blood transfusion: the ABO
group in 1900 and in co-operation with Alexander S. Wiener, he discovered the Rhesus group in
1940. The development of the Coombs test in 1945, the advent of transfusion medicine, and
the understanding of hemolytic disease of the newborn led to discovery of more blood groups,
and now 30 human blood group systems are recognized and registered by the International
Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT), and across the 30 blood groups, over 600 different blood
group antigens have been found; many of these are very rare or are mainly found in certain
ethnic groups. Blood types have been used in forensic science and were formerly used to
demonstrate impossibility of paternity (e.g., a type AB man cannot be the father of a type 0
infant), but both of these uses are being replaced by genetic fingerprinting, which provides
greater certainty.
Out of the 30 blood group systems, fourteen are mostly detected and are constantly used in
transfusion and hemolytic diseases’ studies. The fourteen blood groups and their year of
discovery is presented in the Table 7.1.

Table 7.1: Fourteen of the most commonly detected blood-group systems

S/N BLOOD GROUP SYSTEM DATE DISCOVERED

1. AUI) 1990
2. MNSs 1927
3. P 1927
4. Rh 1940
5. Lutheran 1945
6. Kell 1946
7. Lewis 1946
8. Duffy 1950
9. Kidd 1951
10. Diego 1955
11. Vt 1956
12. 1 1956
13. Xg 1962
14. Dombrock 1965

7.2.2 Blood Types

A complete blood type would describe a full set of 30 substances on the surface of RECs, and
an individual’s blood type is one of the many possible combinations of blood-group antigens.
Almost always, an individual has the same blood group for life, but very rarely an individual’s
blood type changes through addition or suppression of an antigen in infection, malignancy, or
autoimmune disease. Another more common cause in blood type change is a bone marrow
transplant, Bone-marrow transplants are performed for many leukemia and lymphomas, among
other diseases. If a person receives bone marrow from someone who is a different ABO type
(e.g., a type A patient receives a type 0 bone marrow), the patient’s blood type will eventually
convert t1o the donor’s type.

Some blood types are associated with inheritance of other diseases; for example, the Kell
antigen is sometimes associated with McLeod syndrome. Certain blood types may affect
susceptibility to infections, an example being the resistance to specific malaria species seen in
individuals lacking the Duffy antigen. The Duffy antigen, presumably as a result of natural
selection, is less common in ethnic groups from areas with a high incidence of malaria.

7.2.2.1 The ABO System

It is the most important blood-group system in human-blood transfusion. The associated anti-A
and anti-B antibodies are usually Immunoglobulin M, abbreviated 1gM, antibodies. ABO 1gM
antibodies are produced in the first years of life by sensitization to environmental substances
such as food, bacteria, and viruses. The 0 in ABO is often called 0 (zero, or null) in other
languages. The ABO system was shown by Bernstein in 1925 to consist of three alleles of a
single gene, Isoagglutinogens, 1A, jB and I°, forming four different phenotypic groups: A (1A1A
or 1A I°), B (jBjB or jBI°), AB (1AjB]8) and Q I°I°). The I° allele is also symbolized as lowercase i,
so that the O blood genotype is represented as ii. The three alleles can also be symbolized
without I, i.e., A, B and O. The phenotypes and corresponding genotypes are represented in
Table 2.

Table 7.2: Phenotypes and genotypes in ABO blood system

Phenotype Genotype

A AA or AO

B BB or BO

AB AB

O OO

7.2.2.2 Rhesus Blood System

The Rh system is the second most significant blood-group system in human-blood transfusion
with currently 50 antigens. It plays an important dominant role in a condition known as
hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN). The blood group was named Rh because it was
discovered in rhesus monkeys. The Rh blood group is genetically complex; for the sake of
discussion we will consider it as a simple two-allele system:

Rh, dominant to the second allele, Rh. Rh individuals make an antigen that is present on the
cell surface. Rh individuals do not make this antigen. Rh alleles are nonrandomly distributed in
human populations. Among white Americans 85% are Rh, and 15% are Rh. The frequency of
Rhesus in the white American populations is similar to those in Africa including Nigeria.
However, among American Indians and Asians, almost 100% of the population are Rh+ The
most significant Rh antigen is the D antigen because it is the most likely to provoke an immune
system response of the five main Rh antigens. It is common for D-negative individuals not to
have any anti-D Immunoglobulin G, (IgG) or Immunoglobulin M, (1gM) antibodies, because
anti-D antibodies are not usually produced by sensitization against environmental substances.
However, D-negative individuals can produce [g anti-D antibodies following a sensitizing event:
possibly a feto-maternal transfusion of blood from a fetus in pregnancy or occasionally a blood
transfusion with D positive Red Blood Cells.
HDN is a disease that begins during fetal development and results from an immunologic
incompatibility between mother and fetus when the mother is Rh- and the fetus is Rh+. If fetal
blood enters the maternal circulation, the Rh+ antigen present on the surface of the fetal cells
stimulate the formation of antibodies by the mother’s immune system. Usually, this happens
during the birth process, so that the first pregnancy causes antibody production in the mother,
but the first offspring escapes HDN. If a subsequent pregnancy involves an Rh+ fetus,
antibodies present in the Rh- mother cross the placenta and destroy the red blood cells of the
fetus. This causes anaemia, jaundice, cerebral damage, mental retardation and death. It is a
condition known medically as erythoblastosis fetalis.

7.2.3 Blood Transfusion

Transfusion medicine is a specialized branch of haematology that is concerned with the study of
blood groups, along with the work of a blood bank to provide transfusion service for blood and
other blood products. Across the world, blood products must be prescribed by a medical doctor
(licensed physician or surgeon) in similar ways as medicines.

Much of the routine work of a blood bank involves testing blood from both donors and
recipients to ensure that every individual recipient is given blood that is compatible and is as
safe as possible. If a unit of incompatible blood is transfused between a donor and recipient, a
severe acute haemolytic reaction with haemolysis (Red blood cell destruction), renal failure and
shock is likely to occur, and death is a possibility.

Antibodies can be highly active and can attack Red blood cells and bind components of the
complement system to cause massive haemolysis of the transfused blood.

Patients should ideally receive their own blood or type-specific blood products to minimize the
chance of a transfusion reaction. Risks can be further reduced by cross-matching blood, but this
may be skipped when blood is required for an emergency. Cross-matching involves mixing a
sample of the recipient’s serum with a sample of the donor’s red blood cells and checking if the
mixture agglutinates, or forms clumps. If agglutination is not obvious by direct vision, blood
bank technicians usually check for agglutination with a microscope. If agglutination occurs, that
particular donor’s blood cannot be transfused to that particular recipient. In a blood bank, it is
vital that all blood specimens are correctly identified, so labeling has been standardized using a
barcode system known as ISBT 128.

The blood group may be included on identification tags or on tattoos worn by military
personnel, in case they should need an emergency blood transfusion. Frontline German Waffen-
SS had blood group tattoos during World War II. In Nigeria, the Drivers’ licenses issued by
Road Safety Corps now carry the individual’s blood group of ABO and Rhesus.

7.2.4 ITQs
i. How many alleles are involved in ABO blood system?
ii. In Rhesus blood system, how antigens are important and which is most significant?
ITAs

Rare blood types can cause supply problems for blood banks and hospitals. For example, Duffy-
negative blood occurs much more frequently in people of African origin, and the rarity of this
blood type in the rest of the population can result in a shortage of Duffy-negative blood for
these patients. Similarly, for RhD negative people, there is a risk associated with travelling to
parts of the world where supplies of RhD negative blood are rare, particularly East Asia, where
blood services may endeavour to encourage Westerners to donate blood. Table 3 shows the
Red blood cell incompatibility table with reference to ABO and Rhesus blood groups.

Table 7.3: Red blood cell compatibility table

7.2.5 ITAs
i. Three alleles are involved in ABO blood system, namely 1A, IB and I°
ii. In Rhesus blood system, 5 antigens are important (C, D, E, F, G), and D is the most
significant.

7.3 PATERNITY TESTING

Apart from transfusion, blood group can also be employed in legal medicine. This is to help the
judges in law courts to solve the problems and litigations involving cases of disputed paternity,
mix-up babies in the hospitals and more legal issues of like situations. This is achieved by
matching the blood of individuals involved in the cases using the Isoagglutinogens as earlier
stated. The results may solve it out rightly or other parameters will be applied such as DNA
fingerprinting and Molecular diagnostics. For example, an AB individual cannot be the parent of
an O individual, two A individuals may be the parents of an O individual if both are AO.

7.3.1 ITQs
i. Based on ABO and Rhesus blood systems, which blood groups are referred to as
universal donor and universal recipient?
ii. Which blood group can a possible father of an A child has?

7.3.2 ITAs
i. O- is a universal donor and AB+ is a universal recipient
ii. A or AB
7.4 SEX DETERMINATION IN HUMANS
In humans, as in any other species, there are obvious phenotypic differences between the
sexes, known as sexual dimorphism. In some organisms, the differences are limited to the
gonads, while in others, including humans, secondary sex characteristics such as body size,
patterns of fat distribution, and amounts and distribution of body hair emphasize the differences
between sexes.

7.4.1 Sex Chromosomes

In humans, there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the cells except the sex cells that
have 23 units. Among the 23 pairs, 22 pairs constitute the autosomes; these are chromosomes
that codes for traits apart from sex and the last pair, called sex chromosomes are responsible
for the determination of sex. In humans, the sex chromosomes are designated as X and Y
chromosomes.

7.4.1.1 XY Mechanisms
What determines maleness or femaleness is a complex interaction between genes and the
environment. In some cases, environmental factors play a vital role. For example, in some
reptiles such as turtles or crocodiles, sex is determined by the incubation temperature of the
eggs. Eggs incubated at higher temperatures produce females; those at lower temperatures
produce males. In humans, on the other hand, sex determination is primarily associated with
sex chromosomes. Females have two X-chromosomes (XX) and males have an X and a Y
chromosome (XY).

All gametes produced by females contain an X chromosome, while males produce two kinds of
gametes in equal amounts, those containing an X chromosome and those containing a Y
chromosome. Because the male makes two kinds of gametes, he is referred to as
heterogametic, and the female is homogametic, since she makes only one type of gamete. An
egg fertilized by an egg-bearing sperm results in an XX zygote that will develop as a female.
Fertilization by a Y bearing sperm will produce an XY or male zygote and consequently, a male
child will be the result. Clearly, then, it is the male gamete that determines the sex of the
offspring.
Although the XX-XY mechanism of sex determination seems straightforward, it does not provide
all the answers to the question of what determines maleness and femaleness. Is a male what is
it because he has a Y-chromosome or because he does not have two X — chromosomes? This
question was answered about forty years ago with the discovery that some humans carry
abnormal number of sex chromosomes. Rarely, individuals with only 45 chromosomes (45,X),
Turner syndrome are born and these individuals are female with characteristics tending towards
masculine among others such as shortness, wide-chested, underdeveloped breasts and they
lack ovarian development.

At about the same time, males carrying two X chromosomes and a Y chromosome was
discovered (47, XXY) as Klinefelter syndrome. From the study of these and other individuals
with abnormal numbers of sex chromosomes, it is clear that some females may have only one X
chromosome and that some males can have more than one X chromosome.

Furthermore, anyone with a Y chromosome is always male, no matter how many X

chromosomes he may have. The conclusion is that the male phenotype is associated with the
presence of a Y chromosome and the absence of a Y chromosome results in the female
phenotype. However, two X chromosomes are required for female development to take place in
a normal fashionand a single X chromosome is required for normal development.

7.4.2 Sex-Ratio
Since the sex of the offspring is determined by the presence or absence of a Y chromosome
and because males produce approximately equal numbers of X- and Y-bearing gametes, males
and females should be produced in equal proportions. This proportion, known as the sex ratio,
changes throughout the life cycle. The sex ratio at conception, known as the primary sex ratio,
should be 1:1. While direct determination is impossible, estimates indicate that the ratio is
skewed in favour of males and may be as high as 1.6: 1(160 males for every 100 females).
Although reasons for this discrepancy are not clear, it may involve the size difference between
the X and Y chromosomes.

Because the Y chromosome is much smaller than the X, it is thought that Y-bearing sperm is
lighter and can swim faster and farther than X-bearing sperm. If more Y- bearing sperm reach
the vicinity of the egg, a higher number of male fertilizations would result. While this idea may
seem farfetched, laboratory methods for separating X- and Y- bearing sperm called
centrifugation on the basis of weight have been successful and can be used in conjunction with
artificial insemination to produce male or female offspring of choice 75% of the time.

The sex ratio at birth known as the secondary sex ratio is about 1.05 (105 males for every 100
females). The tertiary sex ratio is the ratio of adults. When measured at 20 to 25 years of age,
it is - 1.00; thereafter females outnumber the males in ever increasing proportions. The
underlying reason for the higher death rate among males is not known for certain but includes
both environmental and genetic factors. Accidents are the leading causes of death among males
aged 15 to 35 years, and the expressions of deleterious X-linked recessive genes also lead to a
higher death rate.

7.4.3 Pre-Determination of Sex

It is scientifically possible to determine the sex of an unborn child by several methods. Apart
from the billing’s method of determining rhythm and ovulation periods in women to calculate
when to copulate and so on, it could be consciously determined with more precise results using
the following avenues

1. AMNIOCENTESIS: A surgical technique for obtaining amniotic fluid and analyse the
fluid using the cells from the foetus. It will be determined to see which of the sex-
chromosomes are present.
2. Artificial Insemination with Choice
3. SPERM: The semen is spun in a centrifuge and the desired sperm bearing either X or Y
is selected and used artificially to fertilize the ovum from the woman. If a baby boy is
desired the Y-bearing sperm is selected and an X-bearing sperm is selected for a girl
child.
SPERM BANKS: This is storing sperms in liquid Nitrogen and selected for preferred sex
or other features.
7.4.4 ITQ
Why is the sex ratio skewed in favour of males making it as high as 1.6: 1?
7.4.5 ITA
Because the Y chromosome is much smaller than the X, it is also thought that Y-bearing sperms
are lighter and can swim faster and farther than X-bearing sperms.
7.4.6 Activities
a. List different blood groups in ABO system
b. Mention the significant antigens in Rhesus blood system
c. Explain blood transfusion and compatibility
d. Describe 3 ways by which the sex of an unborn child could be determined.
7.5 Sickle Cell Awareness

It is very important that intending couples know their respective genotype before saying ‘Yes, I
do’ to each other since they wish to spend the rest of their lives together.

Table 7.4: Sickle cell status and marriage compatibility

GENOTYPE APPROPRIATE SUITOR REMARK

AA AA Excellent
AA AS Good
AA SS Fair
AS AS Bad
AS SS Very Bad
SS SS Extremely Bad (In fact, should not be
tried)

7.5.1 ITQ
Why is it very important that intending couples should know their respective sickle cell status
before marriage?
7.5.2 ITA
To determine the possibility of any of their unborn child either being affected or carrying the
sickle cell trait.

7.6 Blood Group Compatibility

Table 7.5: Blood Type and frequency of occurrence.

Blood type How common Percentage in Population

O+ 1 in 3 (Most common) 37.4%

A+ 1 in 3 35.7%

B+ 1 in 12 8.5%

AB+ 1 in 29 3.4%

O- 1 in 15 6.6%

A- 1 in 16 6.3%

B- 1 in 67 1.5%

AB- 1 in 167 (Rarest) 0.6%

7.6.1 Compatible Blood Types based on ABO and Rhesus Systems.

O- can receive O-
O+ can receive O+, O-

A- can receive A-, O-

A+ can receive A+, A-, O+, O-

B- can receive B-, O-

B+ can receive B+, B-, O+, O-

AB- can receive AB-, B-, A-, O-

AB+ can receive AB+, AB-, B+, B-, A+, A-, O+, O-

In some cultures, the belief is that one’s blood group also speaks about his/her personality.
However, it should be noted that this has no scientific basis. For example:

A+: Good leadership.

A - : Hardworking.
B+: Can Sacrifice for others and very ambitious, tolerance.
B - : Non flexible, Selfish & Sadistic.
O+: Born to help.
O- : Narrow minded.
AB+: Very difficult to understand.
AB- : Sharp & Intelligent.

7.6.2 ITQs
i. Which blood type is most frequent?
ii. Which blood group is the universal donor?
iii. Which blood type is associated with people that can sacrifice for others?

7.6.3 ITAs
i. O+
ii. AB+
iii. B+

7.7 GENETIC IMPLICATIONS OF MATERNAL AGE ON CHILDREN

Impending parenthood makes many couples aware of "heredity" and consequences of abnormal
children. These include aberrations caused by chromosomal irregularities. After marriage most
couples are anxious of becoming pregnant and giving birth to healthy young individuals. In
most cases, little attention is given to the age of the parents. Nigeria, being a heterogeneous
society consists of diverse cultures where each group among has peculiar beliefs on age of
couples before marriage.

According to Ngangah (1998) culture, being a way of life of a people is usually difficult but not
impossible to change. Culture prohibits a number of things among certain groups of the society
(Omoso, 2009). Culture which breeds custom is defined as a usage or practice of the people
which by common adoption and acquiescence and by long and unvarying habit has become
compulsory and has acquired the force of a law with respect to the place or subject matter to
which it relates (Grener, 2009).

In some communities in Nigeria, particularly the Eastern part, emphasis is placed on the bride-
price as against age of the girl or lady, where a woman is regarded as an object or article in a
commercial transaction. Bride price is the money price a man or the groom pays to purchase his
bride/wife. The payment is made to the father or guardian of the bride on her account in
respect of her traditional marriage to the groom. Though bride-price varies from area to area;
some are low, while others are high (Nwogugu, 1990). However,the resultant effect is that
many girls are left unmarried and allowed to advance in age and this has serious genetic
consequences.

7.7.1 Genetic Abnormalities

Variations in chromosome number of a cell or an organism give rise to abnormalities referred to
severally as: aneuploidy, monoploidy, and polyploidy etc, depending on where and when the
variation occurred to cause a deviation from the normal chromosomal number or structure. In
aneuploidy, a cell or organism has one, two or a few whole chromosomes, more or less than
the basic number expected to be present. In monoploidy, an organism that is usually diploid
has only one set of chromosomes. In polyploidy, an organism has more than its normal number
of sets of chromosomes. Any or all of these abnormal conditions may have serious
consequences to the organism.

7.7.2 Age of Mother and Risks of Genetic Anomaly

One popular genetic condition that is considered a consequence of age is trisomy 21, otherwise
known as Down syndrome (Sloane, 1985: Suzuki et al., 1981). Trisomy 21 occurs when there
are three copies of the chromosome 21 instead of the normal two, it is an aneuploidy condition.
The meiotic error that causes aneuploidy is called nondisjunction (Lewis, 1997). Maternal age
has a strong influence on the incidence of trisomy 21 (Kumar et al., 2007). Down syndrome is
the most common of the chromosomal disorders and is a major cause of mental retardation
(Kumar et al., 2007). The most common cause of trisomy and therefore Down syndrome is
meiotic nondisjunction (Suzuki et al., 1981)

7.7.3 ITQs
i. How do you define culture which breeds custom?
ii. What is trisomy-21?
7.7.4 ITAs
 i. Culture which breeds custom is defined as the usage or practice of the people which by
common adoption and acquiescence or by long and unvarying habit has become
compulsory and has acquired the force of a law with respect to the place or subject
matter to which it relates.
ii. Trisomy 21 occurs when there are three copies of the chromosome 21 instead of the
normal two.
7.8 Implications for Society and Culture
The table below shows that as the mother increases in age, the higher the risk of having an
imbecile child.

Table 7.6: Relationship between maternal age and risk of Down syndrome

Age of Mother Risk of Down syndrome in child

< 29 1/3000

30 – 34 1/600

35 – 39 1/280

40 – 44 1/70

45 – 49 1/40

All mothers combined 1/665

(Russell, 2010)

7.8.1 Other Trisomies

A variety of other trisomies, involving chromosomes 8, 9, 13, 18 and 22 have been described.
Only trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome) are slightly popular as
Down syndrome. They share karyotypic and clinical feature with Down syndrome. Thus, most
cases result from meiotic nondisjunction and carry extra copy of chromosome 18 or 13. Also, in
these conditions, maternal age has been implicated. The malformations in trisomy 18 and 13
are much more severe than Down syndrome, as a result, affected infants rarely survive beyond
the first year of life.

Table 5: Phenotypic expression of different Trisomies

Chromosomal constitution Syndrome Phenotype

Trisomy 21 Down Mental retardation, abnormal pattern of palm creases,
flat face, sparse, straight hair, short stature, high risk of
 cardiac anomalies, leukemia, cataract, digestive
blockages.

Trisomy 13 Patau Mental and physical retardation, skull and facial

abnormalities, defect in all organ systems, cleft lip,
large triangular nose, extra digits.

Trisomy 18 Edward Mental and physical retardation, skull and facial

abnormalities, defect in all organ systems, extreme
muscle tone

7.8.1 ITQs

i. What name is given to trisomy that affects chromosome 13?

ii. What chromosome is affected by Edward syndrome?

7.8.2 ITAs
i. Patau syndrome
ii. Chromosome 18

7.9 Summary of study session7

 The two most significant blood group systems were discovered by Karl Landsteiner, a
Viennese physician and a Nobel Prize winner during early experiments with blood
transfusion: the ABO group in 1900 and in co-operation with Alexander S. Wiener the
Rhesus group in 1940.
 Knowledge of these two systems are used in blood transfusion and paternity testing.
 In humans, the sex chromosomes are designated as X and Y chromosomes. Females
have two X-chromosomes (XX) and males have an X and a Y chromosome (XY).
 The sex ratio at conception, known as the primary sex ratio, is the ratio of number of
males per female. It is expected to be 1:1. While direct determination is impossible,
estimates indicate that the ratio is skewed in favour of males and may be as high as 1.6:
1(160 males for every 100 females).
 It is scientifically possible to determine the sex of an unborn child by several methods
such as amniocentesis, artificial insemination with choice and sperm banking.
 It is very important that intending couples should know their respective sickle cell status
before marriage in order to determine the possibility of any of their unborn child either
being affected or carrying the sickle cell trait.
 In blood group compatibility, O+ has the highest percentage while AB- is the lowest in a
population. In the same vein, O- is said to be a universal donor and AB+ is a universal
recipient. In some cultures, the belief, though not scientific, is that one’s blood group
also speaks about his/her personality.
 Variation in chromosome number of a cell or an organism gives rise to abnormalities
referred to severally as: aneuploidy, monoploidy, and polyploidy. Any or all of these
abnormal conditions may have serious consequences to the organism.
 One popular genetic condition that is considered a consequence of age is trisomy 21,
otherwise known as Down syndrome. Maternal age has a strong influence on the
incidence of trisomy 21. Generally, as the maternal age increases, the higher the risk of
having an affected child.
 Other popular trisomies are trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome) and trisomy 13 (Patau
syndrome) which share karyotypic and clinical features with Down syndrome.
7.9.1 SAQs
1. Explain why O- blood type is said to be a universal donor and AB+ is a universal recipient.
2a. Which syndrome results from trisomy 13?
b. Describe the phenotypic expression of the syndrome.
3. Can AB blood type individual be the parent of an O individual? Explain your answer.
4. Explain the following, giving the sex characteristic of each:
a. homogametic
b. heterogametic
c. Turner’s syndrome.

References/Suggestions for further Reading

Campbell Neil A., Reece, Jane B. et al. (2008). Biology Pearson 8thi Edition. Benjamin
Cummins. San Francisco, USA. l267pp.

Cummings, M. (2006). Human Heredity: Principles and Issues. 7th Edition. Brooks/Cole UK.

Freeman Scott (2011). Biological Sciences Pearson 4th Edition. New York: Benjamin
Cummins, 1127 p.

Hartl, Daniel (2010). Essential Genetics. 5t Edition. Jones and Bartlett. UK.

Klug, W.S. (2010). Essentials of Genetics. 7th Edition. Prentice Hall Inc. USA.

Kumar, V., Abbas, A. and Fausto, N. 2007. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease.
Seventh edition. Elsevier. 1525pp.

Lewis, R. 1997. Human Genetics concept and applications. Second edition. WCBMcGraw-Hill.
427pp.

Lewis, Ricky (2001). Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications. Overview to Genetics. New
York:Macmillan, 462pp.

Ngangah, C. (1998). The Politics of Human Rights: A view from the Third World. Kaduna:
Klamidas Communications Ltd.

Nwabueze, B. O. (1974). Nigerian Land Law. Enugu: Nwamite Publisers Ltd

Nwogugu, F. I. (1990). Family Law in Nigeria. Ibadan: N.E.D.

Omoso, C. I. (2009). Women in Nigeria: Religion, Culture, and the AIDS Pandemic. Retrieved
from www.iheu.org/node/979
Russell, P. 2010. Genetics. Third edition. HarperCollins publishers. 758pp

Sloan, E. 1985. Biology of women. Second edition. Delmar publishers Inc. 656pp

Strickberger, Monroe W. (1985). Genetics. 3 Edition. New York: Macmillan Publishing

Company, 842pp.

Suzuki, D., Anthony, J. and Richard, C. 1981. An Introduction to Genetic Analysis. Second
edition, with freeman and company publishers. 911pp