Anemia

Anemia (American English) or anaemia (Commonwealth English), which literally means "without blood," is a deficiency of red blood cells and/or hemoglobin. This results in a reduced ability of blood to transfer oxygen to the tissues. Hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in the red blood cells) has to be present to ensure adequate oxygenation of all body tissues and organs.

Specific anemias

• Fanconi anemia is a hereditary disease featuring aplastic anemia and various other abnormalities
• Hemolytic anemia is a separate constellation of symptoms (also featuring jaundice and elevated LDH levels) with numerous potential causes. It can be autoimmune, immune, hereditary or mechanical (e.g. heart surgery). It can result (because of cell fragmentation) in a microcytic anemia, a normochromic anemia, or (because of premature release of immature red blood cells from the bone marrow), a macrocytic anemia.
• Hereditary spherocytosis is a hereditary disease that results in defects in the RBC cell membrane, causing the erythrocytes to be sequestered and destroyed by the spleen. This leads to a decrease in the number of circulating RBCs and, hence, anemia.
• Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia is an anemia caused by autoimmune attack against red blood cells, primarily by IgM