sickle-cell anemia

sickle–cell anemia

noun

Definition of SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA

: a chronic anemia that occurs in individuals (as those of African or Mediterranean descent) who are homozygous for the gene controlling hemoglobin S and that is characterized by destruction of red blood cells and by episodic blocking of blood vessels by the adherence of sickle cells to the vascular endothelium which causes the serious complications of the disease (as organ failure)

Illustration of SICKLE-CELL ANEMIA