| hemoglobinopathy | <disease, haematology> Disorder due to abnormalities in the haemoglobin molecule, the best known being sickle cell anaemia in which there is a single amino acid substitution (valine for glutamate) in position 6 of the beta chain. In other cases one of the globin chains is synthesised at a slower rate, despite being normal in structure. See: thalassaemia. Origin: Gr. Pathos = disease (18 Nov 1997) |
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