Blood Disorders

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Your blood is living tissue made up of liquid and solids. The liquid part, called plasma, is made of water, salts and protein. Over half of your blood is plasma. The solid part of your blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Blood disorders affect one or more parts of the blood and prevent your blood from doing its job. They can be acute or chronic. Many blood disorders are inherited. Other causes include other diseases, side effects of medicines, and a lack of certain nutrients in your diet.

Types of blood disorders include:

• Platelet disorders, excessive clotting, and bleeding problems, which affect how your blood clots
• Anemia, which happens when your blood does not carry enough oxygen to the rest of your body
• Cancers of the blood, such as leukemia and myeloma
• Eosinophilic disorders, which are problems with one type of white blood cell.

Start Here

• Blood (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Symptoms of Blood Disorders (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Blood Count Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Blood Tests (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish
• Haptoglobin (HP) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Hemoglobin Electrophoresis (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Karyotype Genetic Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• How Lupus Affects the Blood (Lupus Foundation of America)

Specifics

• Eosinophilia (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Heavy Chain Diseases (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Hemoglobin C, S-C, and E Diseases (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• High Red Blood Cell Count (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Low White Blood Cell Count (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Lymphocytosis (High Lymphocyte Count) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance (MGUS) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Neutropenia (Low Neutrophil Count) (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) (Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation)
• Plasma Cell Disorders (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish
• Polycythemia Vera (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• What Is Lymphopenia? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• White Blood Cell Disorders (Merck & Co., Inc.) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Aceruloplasminemia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• CLPB deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Congenital plasminogen deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Dyserythropoietic anemia and thrombocytopenia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Familial erythrocytosis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Hereditary spherocytosis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• McLeod neuroacanthocytosis syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Methemoglobinemia, beta-globin type: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Neuroferritinopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Polycythemia vera: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• X-linked sideroblastic anemia: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Hematologic Diseases (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Charcot-Leiden Crystals in Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Bone Marrow Necrosis.
• Article: Tumor-derived interleukin-1α and leukemia inhibitory factor promote extramedullary hematopoiesis.
• Article: The role of presepsin in pediatric patients with oncological and hematological...
• Blood Disorders -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Hematology Glossary (American Society of Hematology)

Find an Expert

• Find a Hematologist (American Society of Hematology)
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• Hereditary Spherocytosis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Blood differential test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Blood smear (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• CBC (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hematocrit (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hemoglobin (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Low white blood cell count and cancer (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• RBC count (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• RBC indices (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• WBC count (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish