Genetics is a branch of science dealing with heredity. The field is concerned with how genes operate and the way genes are transmitted to offspring. Subdivisions in the field include cytogenetics, which is the study of the cellular basis of inheritance; microbial genetics, the study of inheritance in microbes; molecular genetics, the study of the biochemical foundation of inheritance; and human genetics, the study of how people inherit traits that are medically and socially important. Genetic counselors are primarily concerned with human genetics. They advise couples and families on the chances of their offspring having specific genetic defects. In the passage above, cytogenetics is defined as: