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thalassemia

Syllabification: (thal·as·se·mi·a)
Pronunciation: /ˌTHaləˈsēmēə/
(Britishthalassaemia)
Definition of thalassemia

noun

Medicine
  • any of a group of hereditary hemolytic diseases caused by faulty hemoglobin synthesis, widespread in Mediterranean, African, and Asian countries.

Origin:

1930s: from Greek thalassa 'sea' (because the diseases were first known around the Mediterranean) + -emia

thalassemia in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of thalassemia in the British & World English dictionary

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