MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Red blood cells, multiple sickle cells

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Red blood cells, multiple sickle cells

Sickle cell anemia is an inherited disorder in which abnormal hemoglobin (the red pigment inside red blood cells) is produced. The abnormal hemoglobin causes red blood cells to assume a sickle shape, like the ones seen in this photomicrograph.

Update Date: 5/1/2006

Updated by: Michael C. Milone, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA.

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