Definition of "thalassemia" [thalassemia]

• An inherited form of anemia occurring chiefly among people of Mediterranean descent, caused by faulty synthesis of part of the hemoglobin molecule. (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.

• "His condition, thalassemia, is caused by defective gene that codes for hemoglobin structure."
• "The red blood cells in thalassemia patients are distorted and sometimes immature, containing a nucleus."
• "One of the few clear signs from antiquity is a condition called thalassemia, another defect of hemoglobin."