4.3 Sickle cell anaemia
Sickle cell anaemia is a serious, inherited condition where the red blood cells are an abnormal ‘sickle’ shape.
Figure 4
The abnormal shape of the blood cells means that as they travel around the body, instead of moving freely through the blood vessels, they can become ‘stuck’. The accumulation of blood cells causes swelling and inflammation that causes pain.
OpenLearn - Supporting physical development in early childhood 
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