How many chromosomes are there in Prophase I of meiosis

When I look online people say there are 23 chromosomes but how come in my study guide, they only draw 4 chromosomes (8 chromatids, each chromatid connected to another by a centromere). How many chromosomes are really in Prophase I?


Thanks

In humans:
In prophase I of meiosis, there are 46 chromosomes - not 23.
But they are paired up in homologous pairs - so there are 23 pairs.
And each member of a pair consists of 2 identical chromatids
held together by the centromere.

Only 4 chromosomes are shown in your study guide because
if all 46 were shown it would be an undecipherable mess . . .

So the point of such a simplified drawing is to show what each one looks like
and what it does through the whole process of meiosis.
Then you have to extend that whole thing in your mind to include all 46.

At the beginning of Prophase I, the total amount of DNA is doubled, and by the end of Meiosis I there are two cells complete with a full dosage of the parental DNA.

Before Prophase I, the S phase occurs, which replicates all the DNA. However, since the chromosomes created are not replicated, it's still safe to say that there are 46 Chromosomes - unique chromosomes, that is - but it's twice the number of normal DNA.

I know it's confusing, but there are 46 chromosomes.