sickle cell anemia

sickle cell anemia definition - medical

sickle cell anemia

noun
A chronic, usually fatal inherited form of anemia marked by crescent-shaped red blood cells, occurring almost exclusively in Blacks, and characterized by fever, leg ulcers, jaundice, and episodic pain in the joints. Also called crescent cell anemia, drepanocytic anemia, drepanocytosis, meniscocytosis, sickle cell disease, sickle cell syndrome.

The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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