This article discusses the medical condition. For the
fern genus, see
Anemia (fern)Anemia (
AmE) or anæmia/anaemia (
BrE), from the
Greek (an-haîma) meaning "without blood", is a deficiency of
red blood cells (RBCs) and/or
hemoglobin. This results in a reduced ability of blood to transfer
oxygen to the
tissues, causing tissue
hypoxia. Since all human cells depend on
oxygen for survival, varying degrees of anemia can have a wide range of clinical consequences.
Hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying
protein in the red blood cells) has to be present to ensure adequate
oxygenation of all body tissues and organs. The three main classes of anemia include excessive blood loss (acutely such as a
hemorrhage or chronically through low-volume loss), excessive blood cell destruction (
hemolysis) or deficient red blood cell production (ineffective
hematopoiesis). In menstruating women, dietary iron deficiency is a common cause of deficient red blood cell production.
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