Iron Metabolism and Anemia in Veterinary Medicine

Iron is an essential trace element that underpins oxygen transport, cellular respiration and DNA synthesis in animals. Dietary iron is absorbed predominantly in the duodenum, bound to transferrin for systemic distribution and stored intracellularly within ferritin. Regulation is orchestrated by hepcidin, which limits iron uptake and release in response to inflammatory stimuli and iron load. In veterinary species, disruptions in this finely tuned system can precipitate anaemia, manifesting as diminished red cell mass, reduced haemoglobin concentration and impaired oxygen‐carrying capacity. Common aetiologies include iron deficiency from dietary insufficiency or blood loss, anaemia of chronic disease driven by inflammatory hepcidin up-regulation, haemolytic disorders and chronic kidney disease impairing erythropoietin production. Diagnostic approaches combine erythrocyte indices, reticulocyte analysis, iron panels and bone marrow evaluation, while therapeutic strategies range from dietary correction and parenteral iron supplementation to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. Understanding species-specific differences in iron homeostasis and anaemia pathophysiology is critical for accurate diagnosis, prognosis and tailored interventions in clinical practice across diverse veterinary populations.

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Iron Metabolism and Anemia in Veterinary Medicine publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in iron metabolism and anemia in veterinary medicine across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Hepcidin: A liver-derived peptide hormone that regulates dietary iron absorption and release from storage sites.
Transferrin: The plasma glycoprotein that transports iron to developing erythrocytes.
Ferritin: The intracellular iron storage complex that releases iron in a controlled fashion.
Reticulocyte: An immature red blood cell containing residual RNA, used as a marker of bone marrow erythropoiesis.
Immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF): The percentage of reticulocytes at an early maturation stage, indicating recent erythropoietic activity.
Hypochromic red blood cells: Erythrocytes with reduced haemoglobin concentration, signifying iron-restricted haemoglobin synthesis.

References

1. Regenerative anemia identification in cats: Red blood cell indices or morphology, what to use?. Veterinary World (2024).
2. The first study on urinary loss of iron and transferrin in association with proteinuria in dogs with chronic kidney disease. Veterinary World (2023).
3. Reference intervals for reticulocyte indices, immature reticulocyte fraction, and the percentage of hypochromic red blood cells in adult large breed dogs using the ADVIA 2120 hematology analyzer. Veterinary Clinical Pathology (2023).