Pedigree Drawer
Describe a family in words, type it, or click to build it. Standard symbols and automatic layout.
How to draw a pedigree in two minutes
- Start from text or from a click. Type one line per couple, like
I-1 m + I-2 f : II-1 m, II-2 f affected, or press New and click a person to add their partner, parents, children, siblings or twin. - Describe each person with simple words:
affected,carrier,deceased,proband,adopted,pregnancy,miscarriage,stillbirth,age 34or a"label". - Let the layout do the work. Generations, sibship lines, couples, twins and both sides of a family are arranged automatically. Press Renumber to relabel everyone I-1, I-2, II-1… from left to right.
- Download a high-resolution PNG for reports and slides, or an SVG you can edit in Illustrator or Inkscape. Turn on Privacy mode to hide names and ages before sharing.
Your work is saved in this browser automatically. Drawing and the pedigree text never leave your device. Only a description you send with Describe in words goes to an AI service to be converted, so leave out names and other identifying details. Keep the text version: it is a compact, shareable record of the whole family that you can paste back in at any time.
Pedigree symbols used
The drawings follow the standardized human pedigree nomenclature recommended by the National Society of Genetic Counselors (Bennett et al., Journal of Genetic Counseling, 2022).
| Symbol | Meaning | Word to type |
|---|---|---|
| Square / circle / diamond | Male / female / sex not specified | m / f / u |
| Filled symbol | Affected; with several conditions each fills its own quarter | affected, affected="Condition" |
| Dot in the centre | Carrier, not affected | carrier |
| Diagonal line | Deceased | deceased |
| Arrow with P | Proband (the person who brought the family to attention) | proband |
| Brackets | Adopted | adopted |
| P inside the symbol | Ongoing pregnancy | pregnancy |
| Small triangle | Spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) | miscarriage |
| Symbol with SB and a line | Stillbirth | stillbirth |
| Double line between partners | Consanguineous (related) couple | consanguineous |
| Two slashes on the couple line | Divorced or separated | divorced |
| Lines from one point | Twins; a crossbar marks identical twins | twins(…), identical(…) |
Example: a consanguineous family
Choose Autosomal recessive, cousin marriage from the Examples menu, or paste this:
title: Family A
condition: Hearing loss
I-1 m + I-2 f : II-1 m, II-2 f
II-1 + II-3 f : III-1 m
II-2 + II-4 m : III-2 f
III-1 carrier + III-2 carrier consanguineous : IV-1 m affected proband, IV-2 fTo learn how inheritance patterns show up in families like this one, read How Human DNA Works and Genetics vs Genomics.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Pedigree Drawer free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, and downloads have no watermark.
Can I use it for patients?
Drawings and pedigree text stay in your browser and nothing is stored on our server. Describe in words sends your description to an AI service for conversion, so never include names or identifying details. The tool is provided for education and research. Use your institution’s approved systems for clinical records, and remove identifying details (Privacy mode) before sharing an image. See our Terms of Service.
How do I show both sides of a family?
Write a line for each set of grandparents, then a line joining their children, for example II-2 + II-3 : III-1 f proband. The layout puts each family above its own children. Try the Both sides of the family example.
Can I record more than one condition?
Yes. List them with conditions: Deafness, Diabetes and mark people with affected=Diabetes. Each condition gets its own colour and quarter of the symbol, and a legend is added automatically.
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