A friend of yours has been lately complaining of fatigue nos

A friend of yours has been lately complaining of fatigue, nose bleeds, and just generally out of shape despite being an avid runner. She is always pale and constantly eating ice chips. Lately she has just not been herself. In talking to her she confides that she has gone to the doctor and the physician is running tests to see if she has anemia.

1)From what you know what is likely the type the anemia your friend is dealing with?

2)What form of anemia is this (Microcytic, normocytic, or macrocytic). Describe the type.

3)What is iron’s role in hemoglobin production?

Solution

1). Craving for ice chips; fatigue; paleness of skin and nosebleeds are the symptoms of the anemia. The anemia seems to be caused due to excessive nose-bleeding. The type of anemia is Iron-deficiency anemia.

2). It is a microcytic form of anemia. Due to excessive loss of blood, the body try to recover the loss and in the process make many reticulocytes, which are smaller in size than the normal ones.

3). Hemoglobin has an iron molecule in the core connected to the four globin proteins. The hemoglobin molecule can not remain stable without the iron core.