SOME ASPECTS OF IRON METABOLISM
Authors: MILTON S. SACKS
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1955)

Editorial1 February 1955SOME ASPECTS OF IRON METABOLISMMILTON S. SACKS, M.D.MILTON S. SACKS, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-42-2-458 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe unique importance of iron in mammalian physiology lies in its participation in intracellular respiration. Sixty to 70% of the body's iron is to be found in the respiratory pigment, hemoglobin. Although only minute amounts occur in the various cytochrome enzymes, here also the metal functions in respiratory processes. Iron exists in two states in the body, either chelated with a heme or porphyrin unit (as hemoglobin) or combined in a non-porphyrin form with a protein (table 1). In the latter group are included the storage forms of iron (ferritin, hemosiderin) and transport iron (iron-transferrin) in the circulating blood.1Numerous...1 Granick S: Iron metabolism, Bull. N. Y. Acad. Med. 30: 81, 1954. MedlineGoogle Scholar2 FinchHaskinsFinch SDCA: Iron metabolism. Hematopoiesis following phlebotomy; iron as a limiting factor, J. Clin. Investigation 29: 1078, 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3 BadenochCallender JST: The use of radioactive iron in the investigation of anaemia, Brit. J. Radiol. 27: 381, 1954. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4 PetersonEttinger RERH: Radioactive iron absorption in siderosis (hemochromatosis) of the liver, Am. J. Med. 15: 578, 1953. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5 BraunsteinerGisingerPakesch HEF: Ferritin, Transferrin, und Serumeisen, Klin. Wchnschr. 30: 394, 1952. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar6 TheorellBeznakBonnichsenPaulÅkeson HMRKG#: On the distribution of injected radioactive iron in guinea pigs and its rate of appearance in some hemoproteins and ferritins, Acta chem. Scandinav. 5: 445, 1951. CrossrefGoogle Scholar7 Granick S: Ferritin; increase of protein apoferritin in gastrointestinal mucosa as direct response to iron feeding, J. Biol. Chem. 164: 737, 1946. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar8 Hahn PF: Metabolism of iron, Fed. Proc. 7: 493, 1948. MedlineGoogle Scholar9 HesatedFinchKinney DMCATD: The influence of diet on iron metabolism; the interrelation of iron and phosphorus, J. Exper. Med. 90: 147, 1949. MedlineGoogle Scholar10 GillmanGillman JT: Pathogenesis of cytosiderosis as evidenced in malnourished Africans, Gastroenterology 8: 19, 1947. MedlineGoogle Scholar11 Laurell CB: Plasma iron and the transport of iron in the organism, Pharm. Rev. 4: 371, 1952. MedlineGoogle Scholar12 HuffHennesseyAustinGarciaRobertsLawrence RLTGREJFBMJH: Plasma and red cell iron turnover in normal subjects and in patients having various hematopoietic disorders, J. Clin. Investigation 29: 1041, 1950. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar13 WassermanRashkoffLeavittMayerPort LRIADJS: The rate of removal of radioactive iron from the plasma—an index of erythropoiesis, J. Clin. Investigation 31: 32, 1952. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar14 RathFinch CECA: Sternal marrow hemosiderin. A method for the determination of available iron stores in man, J. Lab. and Clin. Med. 33: 81, 1948. MedlineGoogle Scholar15 Nissim JA: Iron toxicity, intravenous administration of iron, Lancet 2: 49, 1947. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar16 Nissim JA: Toxic reactions after intravenous saccharated iron oxide in man, Brit. M. J. 1: 352, 1954. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar17 LuongoBjornson MASS: The liver in ferrous sulfate poisoning. A report of three fatal cases in children and an experimental study, N. England J. Med. 251: 995, 1954. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar18 WarthinPetersonBarr TAEWJH: The treatment of idiopathic hemochromatosis by repeated phlebotomy, Ann. Int. Med. 38: 1066, 1953. LinkGoogle Scholar19 DavisArrowsmith WDWR: The treatment of hemochromatosis by massive venesection, Ann. Int. Med. 39: 723, 1953. LinkGoogle Scholar This content is PDF only. To continue reading please click on the PDF icon. Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: MILTON S. SACKS, M.D. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Metrics 1 February 1955Volume 42, Issue 2Page: 458-463KeywordsEnzymesFerritinHemeHemoglobinPorphyrinsProteinsRespiration ePublished: 1 December 2008 Issue Published: 1 February 1955 PDF downloadLoading ...