Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - thalassemia

 noun  Etymology: New Latin, from Greek thalassa sea + New Latin -emia  Date: 1932 any of a group of inherited disorders of hemoglobin synthesis affecting the globin chain that are characterized usually by mild to severe hemolytic anemia, are caused by a series of allelic genes, and tend to occur especially in individuals of Mediterranean, black, or southeast Asian ancestry; especially Cooley's anemia  • thalassemic adjective or noun