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.
Review Date: 07/03/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
