Definition of "sickle cell" [sickle cell]

• An abnormal, crescent-shaped red blood cell that results from a single change in the amino acid sequence of the cell's hemoglobin, which causes the cell to contort, especially under low-oxygen conditions. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Michael J. Behe received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 for his dissertation work on physical properties of sickle cell hemoglobin."
• "People who have sickle cell disease but who also have HPFH often have much milder clinical symptoms than do those without HPFH."
• "These children have full-fledged sickle cell disease, as opposed to the half-gene version known as “sickle trait.”"