Anatomy

Iron

search

Iron

  • See Also
  1. Red Blood Cell Physiology
  2. Iron Deficiency Anemia
  3. Hemochromatosis
  4. Dietary Iron
  5. Iron Supplementation
  6. Serum Ferritin
  7. Serum Iron
  8. Iron Saturation
  • Physiology
  • Iron
  1. Total Body Iron
    1. Men: 50 mg/kg (or 3.8 grams for 75 kg man)
    2. Women: 42 mg/kg (or 2.3 grams for 55 kg woman)
  2. Normal adult iron distribution
    1. Functional iron (70%)
      1. Hemoglobin component (80%)
      2. Myoglobin
      3. Intracellular respiratory enzymes (Cytochrome P450)
    2. Storage or transport iron (30%)
      1. Ferritin (primary storage)
      2. Hemosiderin
      3. Transferrin (iron transport)
  3. Iron Loss
    1. Men and non-menstruating women: 1 mg iron/day
    2. Menstruating women: 1.6 to 2.5% more per day
      1. Blood loss varies widely per Menstrual Cycle
      2. Average loss: 10 mg iron/cycle
      3. Blood loss may approach 42 mg/cycle in heavy flow
    3. Pregnancy: 700 mg iron lost
    4. Whole blood donation (500 cc): 250 mg iron lost