Hemo, meaning "blood," and philia, meaning "love," make up the word hemophilia, but hemophilia is not the love of blood, so what is And? Hemophilia is a rare bleeding disorder that causes the affected person to bleed more than that of a person without hemophilia. When a child with hemophilia falls off his bicycle and cuts his knee, the blood takes longer to clot at the sight of the cut than it does for a child without hemophilia. Hemophilia also causes joint damage because the blood accumulated from bleeding inside the body eats away at the joints. Of the two types of hemophilia: hemophilia A, which is factor VIII deficiency, and hemophilia B, factor IX deficiency, hemophilia A is more common with 80% of cases being this type (Dowshen). But what causes this bleeding disorder? How does someone get it? How can it be treated? Since the discovery of the cause of hemophilia in the 20th century, many patients with hemophilia have been helped because treatments for this disorder have been developed, inhibitors have been discovered, and treatments for inhibitors have been created. What are the causes of hemophilia? Hemophilia is the result of having factor VIII or factor IX deficiency. Factors VIII and IX are two types of clotting factors that help the body stop a bleeding. The KidsHealth article “Hemophilia” explains that when a child falls and scrapes a knee, “platelets go to where the bleeding is and plug the hole.” These platelets release chemicals that attract proteins called clotting factors to “form fibers [that] make the clot stronger and stop the bleeding.” However, a child with hemophilia is missing one of his twelve clotting factors, which are labeled with the Roman numerals I through XII, and the clotting factor he has cannot form strong enough fibers... center of paper. ... ..not because of the inhibitors, over the last century or so they have improved the treatment of hemophilia and have helped save many lives. Works Cited Derewicz, Mark. “New gene therapy shows promise as hemophilia treatment.”UNChealthcare.org. UNC School of Medicine, December 11, 2013. Web. April 15, 2014 Dowshen, Steven. Nielson, Susanne. "Haemophilia." KidsHealth.org. Children's Health, January 2011. Network. March 25, 2014 “Gene therapy and hemophilia A.” choa.org. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, n.d. Web, April 16, 2014 "Inherited Pattern of Hemophilia." hemophiliafed.org. Hemophilia Federation ofAmerica, n.d. Web, April 25, 2014Kelley, Laureen A. Raising a Child with Hemophilia: A Practical Guide for Parents. 1991.Pennsylvania: CSL Behring, 2007. Print.“Learning About Hemophilia.” genome.gov. National Human Genome Research Institute.September 27, 2011. Web. March 25. 2014