EVERYDAY SCIENCE - BODY SYSTEMS

Question 2

Sickle-cell anaemia is a condition where the red blood cells in the body are sickle or crescent shaped instead of their usual doughnut shape.   While normal red blood cells live up to about 120 days, sickle-cells only live for about 10 to 20 days. Therefore, the body might not be able to produce enough red blood cells to keep up with the fast depletion of red blood cells. The sickle-cells are also stiff and sticky due to their shape, which makes it hard for them to pass through the blood vessels smoothly.

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Answer 1

Fill in the blanks with the keywords provided below.
[decrease] • [blood vessels] • [less blood] • [brain] • [respiration] • [less energy] • [cells] • [oxygen]

a) With reference to the fast depletion of sickle-cells, explain why people with sickle-cell anaemia often feel tired.

Answer:

When the body cannot produce red blood cells fast enough to replace the dead red blood cells, there will be a in the number of red blood cells present to transport .
The in the body will not have enough oxygen and digested food for , causing the patient to often feel fatigued as will be released.


b) A “stroke” occurs when the blood flow to the brain is restricted and brain cells start to die. Explain why sickle-cells can lead to stroke.

Answer:

As sickle-cells are stiff and sticky, it is easy for them to get stuck in the . As a result, can flow to the and this results in a stroke.




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“Sickle cell disease is inherited disease and therefore, not contagious. It is also one of the most common genetic disorders.”