Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about iron deficiency anemia. And you can find written notes on this topic at

zero to finals.com slash iron deficiency or in the hematology section of the zero defiance medicine book.

So let's get straight into it.

Iron is an important part of the hemoglobin molecule.

Hemoglobin is responsible for carrying oxygen around the body.

Iron deficiency leads to anemia,

which is a low concentration of hemoglobin.

Iron deficiency causes a

microstic hypochromic anemia.

Micrositic refers to small red blood cells with a low mean cell volume or

MCV. Hypochromic refers to pale cells due to a reduced hemoglobin concentration inside the cell.

Let's talk about the causes.

Several scenarios can lead to iron deficiency.

Insufficient dietary iron, for example, restrictive diets.

Reduced iron absorption, for example in celiac disease.

Increased iron requirements, for example in pregnancy, and loss of iron through bleeding,

for example, from a peptic ulcer in the stomach or duodenum, or from bowel cancer.

The most common cause in adults is blood loss.

There's a clear source of blood loss in menstruating women,

particularly in women who have heavy periods, which is called menorrhager. In women not menstruating,

and in men, the most common source of blood loss is the gastrointestinal tract. This bleeding might be from cancer, for example,

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