Biology 1201A Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Pea, Sickle-Cell Disease, Red Blood Cell

• School: Western University
• Department: Biology
• Course: Biology 1201A
• Professor: Jennifer Waugh

Document Summary

Ne(cid:449) (cid:455)ea(cid:396)"s e(cid:448)e, (cid:1005)(cid:1013)(cid:1004)(cid:1008), (cid:373)edi(cid:272)al i(cid:374)te(cid:396)(cid:374), e(cid:396)(cid:374)est i(cid:396)o(cid:374) (cid:449)as e(cid:454)a(cid:373)i(cid:374)i(cid:374)g a (cid:271)lood spe(cid:272)i(cid:373)e(cid:374) f(cid:396)o(cid:373) a new patient. While sketching, he noticed that it was shaped differently from the usual red blood cell. He and his supervisor, james herrick, had concluded that the cells resembled a sickle. Symptoms from the patient included: weakness, dizziness, shortness of breath, pain. The patie(cid:374)t"s fathe(cid:396) a(cid:374)d t(cid:449)o siste(cid:396)s had died f(cid:396)o(cid:373) (cid:373)(cid:455)ste(cid:396)ious ailments that had damaged their lungs or kidneys. The patient herrick and iron were treating died at the age of 32. His symptoms were characteristic of a genetic disorder now known as sickle cell disease. This disease develops when a person has received two copies of a gene (one from each parent) that codes for and altered subunit of hemoglobin, the oxygen-transporting protein in red blood cells. Low oxygen supplies = altered hemoglobin, resulting in long, fibrous, crystal-like structures that push red blood cells into the sickle shape.