cooley's anemia

Coo·ley's anemia   (kōō'lēz)    n.  A usually fatal form of thalassemia in which normal hemoglobin is absent, characterized by severe anemia, enlargement of the heart, liver, and spleen, and skeletal deformation. [After Thomas Benton Cooley (1871-1945), American physician.]

Main Entry: Coo·ley's anemia
Pronunciation: "kü-lEz-
Function: noun
: a severe thalassemic anemia that is associated with the presence ofmicrocytes, enlargement of the liver and spleen, increase in the erythroid bone marrow, and jaundice and that occurs especially in children of Mediterranean parents called also thalassemia major
Cooley /'kü-lE,/ Thomas Benton (1871–1945), American pediatrician. Cooley was one of the first modern pediatricians and a founder of the American Academyof Pediatrics. Interested in the etiology of childhood diseases, he focused his research on hematology and the anemias. His most important contribution was the identification of the familial anemiathat bears his name. In 1927 Cooley, E. R. Witwer, and O. P. Lee described this anemia, frequently called thalassemia, that at first was thought to occur only in children of Mediterranean stock.

Cooley's anemia Coo·ley's anemia (k&oomacr;'lēz)
n.
See thalassemia major.

thalassemia   (thāl'ə-sē'mē-ə)  Pronunciation Key  Any of a group of inherited forms of anemia occurring chiefly among people of Mediterranean descent, caused by faulty synthesis of part of the hemoglobin molecule