thalassemia

noun

thal·​as·​se·​mia ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mē-ə 

: any of a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin synthesis (such as Cooley's anemia) that are marked by mild to severe hypochromic and microcytic anemia, result from the partial or complete failure in production of one or more globin chains, and tend to occur especially in individuals of Mediterranean, African, or southeastern Asian ancestry

—sometimes used with a prefix (such as alpha-, beta-, or delta-) to indicate the hemoglobin chain affected see beta-thalassemia

thalassemic

ˌtha-lə-ˈsē-mik 

adjective or noun

Examples of thalassemia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gene therapy treatments have already been approved for more common genetic diseases, including the blood disorders sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, which affect tens of thousands of patients in the U.S. —Sony Salzman, ABC News, 4 June 2025

Bluebird also faced pushback from European payers after pricing its gene therapy for blood disorder beta thalassemia, called Zynteglo, at $1.8 million per patient. —Angelica Peebles, CNBC, 21 Feb. 2025

Another project aims to prevent thalassemia, a blood disorder caused by a recessive gene that many people unknowingly carry. —Bymartin Enserink, science.org, 6 Feb. 2025

It was also approved for beta thalassemia, a related blood disorder, this January. —Emily Mullin, WIRED, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek thalassa sea + New Latin -emia

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing thalassemia

• beta-thalassemia
• thalassemia major
• thalassemia minor

Rhymes for thalassemia

• anaemia
• anemia
• artemia
• leukaemia
• leukemia
• pyaemia
• toxaemia
• toxemia
• uremia
• viremia
• academia
• acidemia

Medical Definition

thalassemia

noun

thal·​as·​se·​mia

variants or British thalassaemia

ˌthal-ə-ˈsē-mē-ə 

: any of a group of inherited hypochromic anemias and especially Cooley's anemia controlled by a series of allelic genes that cause reduction in or failure of synthesis of one of the globin chains making up hemoglobin and that tend to occur especially in individuals of Mediterranean, African, or southeastern Asian ancestry

—sometimes used with a prefix (as alpha-, beta-, or delta-) to indicate the hemoglobin chain affected

called also Mediterranean anemia

see alpha-thalassemia, beta-thalassemia