Blood Composition and Diseases

​A condition in which the blood cell has lost its characteristic round shape and is oblong or sickle shaped. A crisis occurs when the cells clot in the veins and blood does not flow. It may cause pain in the joints, infections, and heart failure. It occurs in 0.06 % of the population usually African Americans.

Iron Deficiency Anemia

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​Is caused by an insufficient supply of iron to produce the red blood cells. Without enough iron, your body can't produce enough of a substance in RBC that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). As a result, iron deficiency anemia may leave you tired or short of breath. The malformed blood cells are pale and thin compared to normal RBC.

Polycythemia

​An excessive or abnormal increase in the number of erythrocytes (aka red blood cells) – may result from bone marrow cancer or a normal physiological response to living at high altitudes where air is thinner and therefore less oxygen is available – excessive RBCs increases blood viscosity causing it to flow sluggishly in the body and impairs circulation.