What is "Leukemia"?

What is Leukemia?

The word Leukemia is derived from the Greek words leukos (white) and aima (blood). In simple terms, it is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow. It affects the forming of blood cells, one of the most important cells groups of the human body.

An abnormal production and accumulation of white blood cells characterizes this disease. This form of cancer starts to grow from the stem cells present in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is where blood cells are made.

The presence of abnormal cells called as leukemia cells?, also called as damaged leukocytes confirms the disease. Abnormal cells often over crowd with the other cells and end up with damaged DNA. The entire process makes it difficult for the other cells to do their functions smoothly.

In a healthy human, the W.B.C will die after a certain period resulting in the growth of fresh. In this case, they do not die easily and take-up space and continue to add-up. This crowding of bad cells, almost like a fission reaction in an uncontrolled manner, does not allow the normal functioning of the good cells and this result in sickness.

To better understand this disease, it is important that we know the related biological terms:

Bone Marrow:
The inner part of the bone is the bone marrow and this is where R.B.C, platelets and W.B.C are created

White blood cells (W.B.C):
They are also called leukocytes, and they primarily help fight infections. They are of three types:
• Lymphocytes - Main cells that help in fighting infections
• Granulocytes - These are W.B.C with granules which destroy microbes
• Monocytes - These are related to granulocytes and also help the body fight against microbes

Red blood cells (R.B.C):
They are the ones that carry oxygen to all the tissues of the body.

Platelets:
They are very important in forming clots which prevents the blood vessels from bleeding.


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