4.5: Iron Studies

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An interactive or media element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://pressbooks.library.ualberta.ca/mlsci/?p=400

Images of iron stained bone marrow particle smears showing various amounts of iron stores (indicated by the amount of blue present). Perls Prussian Blue. From MLS Collection, University of Alberta.

Image 1: 10x magnification. Low iron stores. https://doi.org/10.7939/R3NC5ST92

Image 2: 10x magnification. Normal iron stores. https://doi.org/10.7939/R3XP6VK0C

Image 3: 10x magnification. High iron stores. https://doi.org/10.7939/R3ZP3WG13

Table 1. Iron studies of hypochromic and microcytic anemias.^1-3

Anemia	Serum Iron	Ferritin	Transferrin	Transferrin Saturation	TIBC	BM Iron stores
IDA	D	D	I	D	I	Absent/D
Thalassemia Minor	N/I	N/I	N/I	N/I	N	N/I
Anemia of Chronic Inflammation	D	I	N	N/D	D	I
Sideroblastic Anemia	I	I	N/D	I	N/D	I
N = Normal I = Increased D = Decreased

References:

1. McKenzie SB. Anemias of disordered iron metabolism and heme synthesis. In: Clinical laboratory hematology. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Pearson; 2015. p. 198-230.

2. Doig K. Disorders of iron kinetics and heme metabolism. In: Rodak’s hematology clinical applications and principles. 5th ed. St. Louis, Missouri: Saunders; 2015. p. 297-313.

3. Finnegan K. Iron metabolism and hypochromic anemias. In: Clinical hematology and fundamentals of hemostasis. 5th ed. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company; 2009. p. 117-37.