1. Two Negro brothers with homozygous hemoglobin C disease are reported. In one splenectomy was performed.
2. Intraerythrocytic crystals in smears of peripheral blood were demonstrated only in the patient who had splenectomy. The crystals could not be found in re-examination of bone marrow preparations of this patient that were made prior to splenectomy.
3. Absence of the spleen may be a necessary factor for the formation of these crystals.
4. The presence of homozygous C disease is compatible with a normal life span.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.