Definition

A medical condition where there is a lower than normal number of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in the blood, leading to various health issues.

Example

The doctor diagnosed her with pancytopenia after reviewing her blood test results.

Conversation

I read an article about pancytopenia the other day.

Oh really? What is it about?

It's a condition where you have a low number of red and white blood cells.

That sounds serious. How do they treat it?

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Pancytopenia → It is formed from "pan-" (meaning all) and "cyto-" (from Greek "kytos", meaning cell) and "penia" (from Greek "penia", meaning deficiency). The term describes a deficiency of all types of blood cells.

Memory Tip

Think of 'pan-' meaning all, and 'cyto-' referring to cells, combined with 'penia' which indicates a deficiency. This helps you remember that pancytopenia means a deficiency of all blood cells.

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