Blood Dyscrasia

|Blood Dyscrasia |

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Also known as hematologic problems

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• Diseases of the blood-forming organs. In most cases, this involves diseases of the bone marrow, but it might also involve the spleen and/or the liver. 

• The term "dyscrasia" originated in earlier medical "science" and referred to the "four humors."  It has come to mean simply "disease" or "pathological condition."

• Thus, blood dyscrasia is a pathological condition of the blood, usually involving disorders of the cellular elements of the blood such as leukemia or hemophilia in which the constituents of the blood are abnormal or are present in abnormal quantity.

• Diseases affecting the spleen, liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and cardiovascular system can cause blood dyscrasias.

Blood dyscrasias can be genetic in origin, or acquired. Often there is no cure for genetic blood dyscrasias, and treatment is aimed at relieving symptoms.

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SYMPTOMS:

• Generally, there are 1-3 of these symptoms:

1. Bleeding problems due to poorly functioning platelets or decreased platelets, or loss of certain body proteins called "clotting factors"

2. Weakness or pale skin color due to poorly functioning red blood cells or decreased numbers of red blood cells 

3. Frequent infections due to poorly functioning white blood cells or decreased numbers of white blood cells

• Symptoms associated with the following common blood dyscrasias (for in-depth discussions of specific diseases, see the title headings):

1. Diseases of platelets:...