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Iron tests are groups of clinical chemistry laboratory blood tests that are used to evaluate body iron stores or the iron level in blood serum. Other terms used for the same tests are iron panel , iron profile , iron indices , iron status or iron studies .
Serum iron is a medical laboratory test that measures the amount of circulating iron that is bound to transferrin and freely circulate in the blood. Clinicians order this laboratory test when they are concerned about iron deficiency, which can cause anemia and other problems. 65% of the iron in the body is bound up in hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells.
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]
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 ...
Nutritional causes are vitamin and mineral deficiencies and non-nutritional causes include infections. The number one cause of this type of anemia, however, is iron deficiency. [12] An insufficient intake of iron, Vitamin B12, and folic acid impairs the bone marrow function. The lack of iron within a person's body can also stem from ulcer bacteria.
Deficiencies of Vitamin B 12 or folate produce a macrocytic anemia (large cell anemia) in which the RDW is elevated in roughly two-thirds of all cases. However, a varied size distribution of red blood cells is a hallmark of iron deficiency anemia, and as such shows an increased RDW in virtually all cases.
Iron-deficiency anemia is the most common type of anemia overall and it has many causes. RBCs often appear hypochromic (paler than usual) and microcytic (smaller than usual) when viewed with a microscope. Iron-deficiency anemia is due to insufficient dietary intake or absorption of iron to meet the body's needs. Infants, toddlers, and pregnant ...
MCHC can be normal even when hemoglobin production is decreased (such as in iron deficiency) due to a calculation artifact. MCHC can be elevated ("hyperchromic") in hereditary spherocytosis , sickle cell disease and homozygous hemoglobin C disease , depending upon the hemocytometer.