thalassaemia

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thalassaemia (Cooley's anaemia) (thal-ă-see-miă) n. a hereditary blood disease, widespread in the Mediterranean countries, Asia, and Africa, in which there is an abnormality in the protein part of the haemoglobin molecule. Symptoms include anaemia, enlargement of the spleen, and abnormalities of the bone marrow. Individuals inheriting the disease from both parents are severely affected (t. major), but those inheriting it from only one parent are usually symptom-free.
www.ukts.org Website of the Thalassaemia Society

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