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sickle-cell disease

sickle-cell disease

1 3.4
A blood condition passed from parents that makes red blood cells crescent-shaped and causes pain
  • noun
  • /ˈsɪkəl sɛl dɪˈziːz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : enfermedad de células falciformes
  • Research with blood stem cells is being used to treat leukemia and other blood diseases such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease.
  • sickle-cell disease patients

Examples

  • In the United States, actual sickle cell disease occurs in approximately 1 in every 500 African American babies, and 1 in 12 carry the SCT.

    Academic text (2003)
  • For adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD), adolescence is complicated by the physical, social, and psychological stresses of living with a chronic illness.

    Academic text (2000)
  • A baby with sickle cell disease is at risk for harmful infections.

    Blog text (29)
  • Children with asthma and sickle cell disease had a higher risk of depression compared to children with other disorders such as diabetes or cancer.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Sickle cell disease is a lifelong autosomal recessive disorder.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Hispanic Americans are also at risk, with approximately 1 in every 1,000 to 1,400 babies diagnosed with sickle cell disease (American Sickle Cell Anemia Association, 2003).

    Academic text (2003)
  • Support groups have the potential to mitigate some of the developmental and condition-specific psychological and social issues common to sickle cell disease (SCD), yet little is known about how adolescents with SCD view and use these groups.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Sickle-cell disease is a serious condition that causes severe pain and fatigue due to abnormal sickle-cell disease.

  • Many people with sickle-cell disease must visit the hospital frequently for treatment and pain management.

  • Research shows that individuals with sickle-cell disease often face complications such as chronic pain and increased risk of infections.

Synonyms

sickle-cell anemia
vssickle-cell disease
  • Specialized
3 4.1

An inherited blood illness in which red blood cells become crescent shaped, causing low red blood cell count and pain

focuses on the hereditary anemia aspect rather than broader complications
drepanocytic anemia
vssickle-cell disease
  • Specialized
5.4

A blood disease you are born with in which red blood cells become sickle-shaped and cause tiredness and pain

is the common medical name used more widely in general contexts
crescent-cell anemia
vssickle-cell disease
  • Specialized
7.0

An inherited blood disease in which red blood cells become crescent-shaped and break early, causing pain and tiredness

highlights the general hereditary anemia type without stressing cell breakdown

Surface Forms

Morphology

sickle-cell + disease

The term is compositionally transparent: 'sickle-cell' describes cells shaped like a sickle and 'disease' denotes a medical condition, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it is a disease involving sickle-shaped blood cells (i.e., a form of anemia). Specific details about heredity and prevalence among certain populations are additional encyclopedic facts, but the core meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Sickle-cell disease gets its name from the look of some red blood cells, which become curved like a farmer's sickle instead of round. Because these curved cells can block blood flow and cause pain and a 'low blood count', the name now refers to a blood problem that 'runs in families'.