PATH 3610 Lecture 1: Unit 1
16 Dec 2015
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Intracellular accumulations: iron deposition (pg 24) ! The body has no mechanism for getting rid of excess iron, however, iron de ciency (especially in women due to menstrual bleeding) is more common than problems of excess iron (but it does occasionally accumulate) ! Hemosiderin can be deposited generally in macrophages throughout the body but particularly in bone marrow, spleen and liver in situations of iron excess such as multiple blood transfusions and excess dietary iron. Hemosiderin is visible under a microscope as brown granules in the cytoplasm (does not harm the cell, no clinical signi cance) ! A rare inherited defect in iron metabolism called hemochromatosis causes free ferric iron to accumulate which is chemically reduced to produce toxic free radicals. These harm cells in the heart, liver and pancreas - something similar can occur in major iron overload : bilirubin accumulation (jaundice or icterus) (pg 605-607)!
