Which inherited bleeding disorder is characterized by defective blood clotting?

Which inherited bleeding disorder is characterized by defective blood clotting?

• A. Hemophilia
• B. Erythroblastosis fetalis
• C. Polycythemia
• D. Blood composition

Answer: (A)

This question centers on inherited bleeding disorders and how a defect in the clotting cascade leads to abnormal bleeding. Hemophilia is the classic example: an inherited deficiency of a clotting factor (usually factor VIII in Hemophilia A or factor IX in Hemophilia B) means the coagulation cascade can’t proceed normally to form a stable clot. As a result, bleeding persists after injury and can occur spontaneously in joints and muscles. It’s typically inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern, so males are more commonly affected and female carriers may be asymptomatic. The other options don’t describe a genetic clotting defect: erythroblastosis fetalis is immune-mediated destruction of fetal red blood cells, polycythemia is an excess of red blood cells that changes blood viscosity rather than clotting ability, and “blood composition” is too vague to specify an inherited bleeding disorder.

This question centers on inherited bleeding disorders and how a defect in the clotting cascade leads to abnormal bleeding. Hemophilia is the classic example: an inherited deficiency of a clotting factor (usually factor VIII in Hemophilia A or factor IX in Hemophilia B) means the coagulation cascade can’t proceed normally to form a stable clot. As a result, bleeding persists after injury and can occur spontaneously in joints and muscles. It’s typically inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern, so males are more commonly affected and female carriers may be asymptomatic. The other options don’t describe a genetic clotting defect: erythroblastosis fetalis is immune-mediated destruction of fetal red blood cells, polycythemia is an excess of red blood cells that changes blood viscosity rather than clotting ability, and “blood composition” is too vague to specify an inherited bleeding disorder.