A formal mathematical framework is presented for the study of linkage in man and the
concept of chromosome pedigree is defined for both autosomes and X chromosomes. It is
shown that, assuming no interference, all the crossover processes in the pedigree may be
viewed jointly as a continuous-time Markov random walk on the vertices of a hypercube, the
time parameter being map distance along the chromosome. The event that two individuals
have a segment of chromosome in common, thus proving them to be related, corresponds to …