Chromosome inversion: A chromosome segment is clipped out, turned upside down and reinserted back into the chromosome.

A chromosome inversion can be inherited and have come from one of the parents to a child. Or the inversion can appear for the first time in a child.

An inversion can be "balanced", meaning that it has all the genes present in the normal uninverted chromosome. Or an inversion can be "unbalanced", meaning that genes been have deleted (lost) or duplicated.

A balanced inversion in a child causes no problems. An unbalanced inversion is abnormal and is often associated with problems such as development delay (and later, mental retardation) and multiple congenital anomalies (birth defects).

Inversions can also be acquired in a body cell (a somatic cell) and be a step involving that cell in a precancerous and cancerous process.