Hematology (spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to blood. It involves treating diseases that affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, bone marrow, platelets, blood vessels, spleen, and the mechanism of coagulation. Such diseases might include hemophilia, sickle cell anemia, blood clots (thrombus), other bleeding disorders, and blood cancers such as leukemia, multiple myeloma, and lymphoma. The laboratory analysis of blood is frequently performed by a medical technologist or medical laboratory scientist.
Specialization
Physicians specialized in hematology are known as hematologists or haematologists.
- treating hematological malignancies such as lymphoma and leukemia (cancers)
- treating hemoglobinopathies, including α-thalassemias and β-thalassemias (thalassemia syndromes) and hemoglobin S, hemoglobin C, and hemoglobin E (abnormal hemoglobins).
- the science of blood transfusion and the work of a blood bank, known as transfusion medicine
- bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, especially with the use of technologies to extract and isolate hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs).
Training
Starting hematologists (in the US) complete a four-year medical degree followed by three or four more years in residency or internship programs. After completion, they further expand their knowledge by spending two or three more years learning how to experiment, diagnose, and treat blood disorders. Some exposure to hematopathology is typically included in their fellowship training. Job openings for hematologists require training in a recognized fellowship program to learn to diagnose and treat numerous blood-related benign conditions and blood cancers. Hematologists typically work across specialties to care for patients with complex illnesses, such as sickle cell disease, who require complex, multidisciplinary care, and to provide consultation on cases of disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombosis and other conditions that can occur in hospitalized patients.
See also
- Hematopathology