Term | Meaning |
anemia | a manifestation of a pathologic process characterized by a reduction below normal in the number of erythrocytes, quantity of hemoglobin, and/or the volume of packed red cells (hematocrit) in the blood |
aplastic anemia | a disease in which the patient has peripheral blood pancytopenia (decrease of all blood cells types) and hypocellular bone marrow |
autologous | in transplantation, denotes removal of the patients own tissue and the fiving back of the tissue to that person |
disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) | a serious bleeding disorder resulting from abnormally initiated and accelerated clotting |
hemachromatosis | an autosomal recessive disease characterized by increased intestinal iron absorption and, as a result, increased tissue iron depostition |
hemolytic anemia | an anemia caused by destruction of RBC's at a rate that ex ceeds production |
hemophilia | heraditary bleeding disorders caused by defective or deficient clotting factors; classic hemophilia A is a sexlinked recessive genetic disorder caused by deficient factor VIII; hemophilia B is a deficiency of factor IX |
hepatomegaly | an abnormal enlargement of the liver |
induction therapy | the initional, aggressive stage of cancer treatment htat attempts to destroy malignant cells and bring about a remission |
iron-deficiency anemia | anemia caused by inadequate iron for hemoglobin production |
leukapharesis | process by which blood is withdrawn from a vein, white blood cells are selectively removed, and the remaining blood is reinfused into the donor |
leukemia | general term used to describe a group of malignant disorders affecting the blood and blood-forming tissues of the bone marrow, lymph system, and spleen |
lymphadenopathy | enlargement of the lymph nodes or lymph vessels |
lymphoblasts | large immature cells that normally develop into lymphocytes |
lymphocytic leukemia | defect in proliferation and maturation of lymphocytes |
megaloblastic anemias | group of disorders caused by impaired DNA synthesis and characterized by the presence of large red blood cells |
multiple myeloma | condition in which neoplastic plasma cells infiltrate the bone marrow and destroy bone |
myeloblasts | large, immature cells that normally develop into gradulocytes |
myelodysplastic syndrome | a group of related hematologic disorders characterized by a change in the quantity and quality of bone marrow elements |
myelogenous leukema | a defect in proliferation and maturation of granulocytes |
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma | a heterogeneous group of malignant neoplasms involving lymphoid tissue |
pernicious anemia | type of megaloblastic anemia resulting from inadequate gastric secretion of intrinsic factor necessary for absorption of cobalamin (vitamin B12) |
Philadelphia chromosome | translocation of the long arm of chromosome 9 found in the abnormal myeloblasts, erythroblasts, and megakaryoblasts of 90% if oatuebts of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia |
polycythemia | production and presence of increased numbers of red blood cells |
sickle cell crisis | an exacerbation of sickle cell anemia when sickle cell hemoglobin assumes various crescent or sickle shapes, occluding small blood vessels |
sickle cell disease | group of inherited, autosomal recessive disorders characterized by the presence of an abnormal form of hemoglobin in the erythrocyte |
sickle cell hemoglobin | abnormal hemoglobin that caused development of deformed crescent-shaped red blood cells when oxygen tension is lowered |
sickle cell trait | heterozygous state in which an individual has only one sickle cell gene paired with a normal homoglobin gene |
splenomegaly | abnormal enlargement of the spleen |
thalassemia | an autosomal recessive genetic disorde of inadequate production of normal hemoglobin |
thrombocytopenia | a reduction of the platelet count below the normal range of 150,000 to 400,000/ul |