The total length of the human reference genome, that does not represent the sequence of any specific individual, is over 3 billion base pairs. The genome is organized into 22 paired chromosomes, termed autosomes, plus the 23rd pair of sex chromosomes (XX) in the female, and (XY) in the male. These are all large linear DNA molecules contained within the cell nucleus. The genome also includes the mitochondrial DNA, a comparatively small circular molecule present in multiple copies in each the mitochondrion.