Hematologic diseases are disorders that occur when your blood and the organs that produce it are not working correctly. Blood is made up of living tissue formed from solids and liquids. Plasma, a liquid containing protein, water, and salts, makes up over half. The rest comes from a solid made up of platelets, white blood cells, and red blood cells. Blood disorders may be chronic or acute, as well as inherited or acquired. They may also be caused by a lack of certain nutrients, by the effects of medications, or by other diseases.Blood diseases include clotting or breathing problems; platelet disorders; anemia; blood cancers, such as leukemia and myeloma; venous thrombosis, and eosinophilic disorders, which are related to one type of white blood cell. HIV-related illnesses, sickle-cell disease, complications from chemotherapy, and some genetic disorders are also hematologic illnesses. These conditions affect the peripheral and central nervous systems.
Hematologists are medical doctors who have been trained to diagnose and treat blood disorders. They usually recommend laboratory tests based on symptoms or results from a physical examination, but some blood disorders are accidentally discovered during routine tests or while testing for other illnesses. A doctor who suspects a disorder usually orders a complete blood count, or CBC, to make a specific diagnosis.
