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Anemia (also spelled anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen.This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin available for oxygen transport, or abnormalities in hemoglobin that impair its function.
Iron-deficiency anemia is anemia caused by a lack of iron. [3] Anemia is defined as a decrease in the number of red blood cells or the amount of hemoglobin in the blood. [3] When onset is slow, symptoms are often vague such as feeling tired, weak, short of breath, or having decreased ability to exercise. [1]
Red blood cells normally survive an average of about 120 days, becoming damaged (their oxygen-carrying capacity becomes compromised) as they age.
Anemia can be classified in a variety of ways, based on the morphology of RBCs, underlying etiologic mechanisms, and discernible clinical spectra, to mention a few. The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely such as a hemorrhage or chronically through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction ( hemolysis ...
Iron deficiency, or sideropenia, is the state in which a body lacks enough iron to supply its needs. Iron is present in all cells in the human body and has several vital functions, such as carrying oxygen to the tissues from the lungs as a key component of the hemoglobin protein, acting as a transport medium for electrons within the cells in the form of cytochromes, and facilitating oxygen ...
Immune mediated hemolytic anemia (direct Coombs test is positive) Autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Warm antibody autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Idiopathic; Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) Evans syndrome (antiplatelet antibodies and hemolytic antibodies) Cold autoimmune hemolytic anemia Cold agglutinin disease; Paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria (rare)
This is common in immunocompromised, elderly, and diabetic people. High blood loss can also come from the increased loss of blood during menstruation, childbirth, cancers of the intestines, and disorders that hinder the blood's ability to coagulate. [citation needed] Medications can have adverse effects and cause nutritional anemia as well.
Whitish or pale discoloration could be a sign of liver disease or anemia, Del Campo says. “If someone notices sudden thinning, dark streaks, or separation from the nail bed, it could indicate ...