Mediterranean anemia
- noun
- /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən əˈniːmiə/
- Specialized
:
anemia mediterránea
- People with Mediterranean anemia often require regular blood transfusions.
Examples
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Many people with Mediterranean anemia experience fatigue.
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The disorder known as Mediterranean anemia is prevalent in regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
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Many cases of Mediterranean anemia are discovered during routine blood tests in childhood.
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Is Mediterranean anemia common in certain populations?
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Many cases of Mediterranean anemia are discovered during routine blood tests in childhood.
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People with Mediterranean anemia often require regular blood transfusions.
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The disorder known as Mediterranean anemia is prevalent in regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea.
Synonyms
2
9.9
An inherited blood disease that causes low levels of red blood cells
How Severe
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally interpretable as 'a form of anemia associated with the Mediterranean', so a B1 learner who knows 'Mediterranean' and 'anemia' will likely grasp that it names an anemia linked to that region or population. However, the medical specifics — that it is an inherited hemoglobin-production disorder (thalassemia) rather than, say, iron-deficiency anemia — are specialized and not predictable from the constituents, making the transparency only partial.
Etymology
Mediterranean anemia got its name because doctors saw it often in countries around the Mediterranean Sea. The word Mediterranean points to the place and anemia means 'low red blood cells', so the name came to mean the inherited 'blood disorder' now commonly called thalassemia.