cytogenetic analysis
(SY-toh-jeh-NEH-tik uh-NA-lih-sis)
The process of analyzing cells in a sample of tissue, blood, bone marrow, or amniotic fluid to look for changes in chromosomes, including broken, missing, rearranged, or extra chromosomes. Changes in certain chromosomes may be a sign of a genetic disease or condition or some types of cancer. Cytogenetic analysis may be used to help diagnose disease, plan treatment, or find out how well treatment is working.