Why is the abnormal blood cell that characterizes sickle cell anemia called so?
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Answers:
with sickle cell anemia, RBCs are shaped like a sickle and these cells cannot carry oxygen efficiently
Because when viewed from the side it is curved like the blade of a sickle, instead of flat.
because of its particular shape... curved like the blade of a sickle = a hand-held cutting tool that farmers once used to cut down their ripe corn
on a peripheral smear sickle cells look like a "c" or an "s". it looks like the farm tool used to cut wheat or grain.
what is interesting is that originally the S variant of hemoglobin helped the individual to survive Malaria. Malaria can't enter and infect red blood cells that have S hemoglobin like it does A (normal) hemoglobin. also homozygous SS is a lethal allele. without some normal hemoglobin the child won't survive.
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