Blood Diseases

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Printed: June 18, 2014
www.ck12.org Chapter 1. Blood Diseases
CHAPTER
1
Blood Diseases
Describe diseases of the blood.
What do these foods have in common?
Red meat, legumes, and spinach are all good sources of iron. Getting enough iron in your diet is important to prevent
anemia. Anemia is a blood disease that causes you to feel weak and tired. Although anemia is caused by a nutrient
deciency, other blood diseases are genetic diseases, or forms of cancer.
Blood Diseases
Problems can occur with red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and other parts of the blood. Many blood
disorders are genetic, meaning they are inherited from a parent. Some blood diseases are caused by not getting
enough of a certain nutrient, while others are cancers of the blood.
Anemia
Anemia is a disease that occurs when there is not enough hemoglobin in the blood to carry oxygen to body cells.
Hemoglobin is the blood protein that normally carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues. Anemia leads to a lack
of oxygen in organs.
Anemia is usually caused by one of the following:
A loss of blood from a bleeding wound or a slow leak of blood.
The destruction of red blood cells.
A lack of red blood cell production.
Anemia may not have any symptoms. Some people with anemia feel weak or tired in general or during exercise.
They also may have poor concentration. People with more severe anemia often get short of breath during times
of activity. Iron-deciency anemia is the most common type of anemia. It occurs when the body does not receive
enough iron. Since there is not enough iron, hemoglobin, which needs iron to bind oxygen, cannot be made.
In the United States, 20% of all women of childbearing age have iron-deciency anemia, compared with only 2% of
adult men. The most common cause of iron-deciency anemia in young women is blood lost during menstruation.
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Iron deciency anemia can be avoided by getting the recommended amount of iron in ones diet. Anemia is often
treated or prevented by taking iron supplements.
Boys and girls between the ages of 9 and 13 should get 9 mg of iron every day. Girls between the ages of 14 and 18
should get 15 mg of iron every day. Boys between the ages of 14 and 18 should get 11 mg of iron every day. Pregnant
women need the most iron27 mg daily. Good sources of iron include shellsh, such as clams and oysters. Red
meats, such as beef, are also a good source of iron. Non-animal sources of iron include seeds, nuts, and legumes.
Breakfast cereals often have iron added to them in a process called fortication. Some good sources of iron are listed
below ( Table 1.1). Eating vitamin C along with iron-containing food increases the amount of iron that the body can
absorb.
TABLE 1.1: Sources of Iron
Food Milligrams (mg) of Iron
Canned clams, drained, 3 oz 23.8
Fortied dry cereals, about 1 oz 1.8 to 21.1
Roasted pumpkin and squash seeds, 1 oz 4.2
Cooked lentils,
1
2
cup 3.3
Cooked fresh spinach,
1
2
cup 3.2
Cooked ground beef, 3 oz 2.2
Cooked sirloin beef, 3 oz 2.0
Sickle-Cell Anemia
Sickle-cell anemia is a blood disease that is caused by an abnormally-shaped hemoglobin protein in red blood cells.
Many of the red blood cells of a person with sickle-cell anemia are long and curved (sickle-shaped) ( Figure 1.1).
The long, sickle-shape of the cells can cause them to get stuck in narrow blood vessels. This clotting means that
oxygen cannot reach the cells. People with sickle-cell anemia are most often well but can occasionally have painful
attacks. The disease is not curable, but it can be treated with medicines.
FIGURE 1.1
The red blood cells of a person with
sickle-cell anemia (left) are long and
pointed, rather than straight, like normal
cells (right). The abnormal cells cannot
carry oxygen properly and can get stuck
in capillaries.
Blood Cancer
Leukemia is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow. It is characterized by an abnormal production of blood cells,
usually white blood cells. Lymphoma is a cancer of a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes. There are many
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types of lymphoma.
Hemophilia
Hemophilia is the name of a group of hereditary diseases that affect the bodys ability to control blood clotting.
Hemophilia is caused by a lack of clotting factors in the blood. Since people with hemophilia cannot produce clots,
any cut can put a person at risk of bleeding to death. The risk of internal bleeding is also increased in hemophilia,
especially into muscles and joints.
Vocabulary
anemia: Disease that occurs when there is not enough hemoglobin in the blood, usually because of a lack of
iron.
hemoglobin: Blood protein that normally carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.
hemophilia: Group of hereditary diseases that affect the bodys ability to control blood clotting.
leukemia: Cancer of the blood or bone marrow.
lymphoma: Cancer in a type of white blood cell called lymphocytes.
sickle-cell anemia: Inherited blood disease that is caused by abnormally-shaped blood protein, hemoglobin.
Summary
Blood diseases can affect red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets.
Blood diseases include sickle-cell anemia, leukemia, lymphoma, and hemophilia.
Practice
Use the resources below to answer the questions that follow.
Aplastic Anemia at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8-jx1dtg0U (2:41)
MEDIA
Click image to the left for more content.
1. What causes aplastic anemia? Why is it considered an autoimmune disease?
2. Where are red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets formed? Which of these cells are at reduced levels
in someone with aplastic anemia?
3. How does "rebooting" the immune system treat aplastic anemia?
Blood Cancers at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNz8YCMJJaY (6:24)
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MEDIA
Click image to the left for more content.
1. In what blood cells can cancer develop?
2. What is leukemia? What blood cells are affected?
3. What is myeloma? What part of the blood is affected?
Review
1. Identify two blood diseases that are inherited.
2. List two good sources of iron in the diet.
References
1. Courtesy of Drs. Noguchi, Rodgers, and Schechter of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases. . Public Domain
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