hemophilia

noun

he·​mo·​phil·​ia ˌhē-mə-ˈfi-lē-ə 

: a hereditary, sex-linked blood defect occurring almost exclusively in males that is marked by delayed clotting of the blood with prolonged or excessive internal or external bleeding after injury or surgery and in severe cases spontaneous bleeding into joints and muscles and that is caused by a deficiency of clotting factors

Note: Hemophilia is inherited as an X-linked recessive trait in which the mother must pass on a copy of the defective gene to a male child, and more rarely, both parents must pass on copies of the defective gene to a female child.

see hemophilia a, hemophilia b

Did you know?

The dreaded disease known as hemophilia is the result of an inherited gene, and almost always strikes boys rather than girls (though mothers may pass the gene to their sons). Since the blood lacks an ingredient that causes it to clot or coagulate when a blood vessel breaks, even a minor wound can cause a hemophiliac to bleed to death if not treated. Bleeding can be particularly dangerous when it's entirely internal, with no visible wound, since the person may not be aware it's happening. Queen Victoria transmitted the hemophilia gene to royal families all across Europe; the hemophilia of a young Russian prince played a part in the downfall of the Russian czars. Today, hemophiliacs take drugs that stop the bleeding by speeding coagulation, and hemophiliac life expectancies in developed countries are almost as long as the average.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

For more than 30 years, companies jostled to get a piece of the drug development action in other areas of rare genetic disease — for cystic fibrosis, say, or for hemophilia — but conditions like Dravet got short shrift. —Elie Dolgin, Discover Magazine, 26 Apr. 2023

Too high of a dose could cause blood clotting; too low could fail to adequately treat the hemophilia condition. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 July 2022

People who have 5% to 30% of the normal amount of clotting factors in their blood typically are considered to have mild hemophilia. —Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 22 July 2022

As a young teen in 1984, he was diagnosed with HIV after receiving contaminated blood products to treat his hemophilia. —Mj Slaby, The Indianapolis Star, 27 July 2021

That level is classified as a very mild hemophilia and doesn't require treatment. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 9 Dec. 2020

The hemophilia trial was typical of most early efforts at gene therapy. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 9 Dec. 2020

Drugs derived from plasma are used for treating ailments such as hemophilia and are showing promise in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s. —Emma Vickers, Bloomberg.com, 13 May 2020

It is designed for hemophilia patients to make the protein missing for blood-clotting. —Jared S. Hopkins, WSJ, 16 Jan. 2020

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Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing hemophilia

• hemophilia B
• hemophilia A

• hemophilia B
• hemophilia A

Kids Definition

hemophilia

noun

he·​mo·​phil·​ia ˌhē-mə-ˈfil-ē-ə 

: an inherited blood defect that is sex-linked, is found almost always in males, and is marked by delayed clotting of blood and a resulting difficulty in stopping bleeding

Medical Definition

hemophilia

noun

he·​mo·​phil·​ia

variants or chiefly British haemophilia

ˌhē-mə-ˈfil-ē-ə 

: a tendency to uncontrollable bleeding

especially : a hereditary, sex-linked blood disorder occurring almost exclusively in males that is marked by delayed clotting of the blood with prolonged or excessive internal or external bleeding after injury or surgery and in severe cases spontaneous bleeding into joints and muscles and that is caused by a deficiency of clotting factors

Note: Hemophilia is inherited as an X-linked recessive trait in which the mother must pass on a copy of the defective gene to a male child, and more rarely, both parents must pass on copies of the defective gene to a female child.

see hemophilia a, hemophilia b compare von willebrand disease