Microcytic anemia

Microcytic anemia is a group of anemias in which the red blood cells are smaller than normal, a size called microcytic. Red cell size is judged by the mean corpuscular volume, which is normally about 80 to 100 femtolitres, and the cells are called microcytic when the value falls below 80. The main causes named are iron deficiency, lead poisoning, thalassemia and anemia of chronic disease. The affected cells usually hold less hemoglobin and look paler than usual, which is described as hypochromic, and this can show as a low mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, normally about 32 to 36 grams per deciliter. For that reason the picture is often written as a microcytic, hypochromic anemia. It is a descriptive laboratory category that spans several distinct underlying disorders, not a single disease.