Iron tests are groups of
clinical chemistry
Clinical chemistry (also known as chemical pathology, clinical biochemistry or medical biochemistry) is the area of chemistry that is generally concerned with analysis of bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. It is an applied ...
laboratory
blood tests that are used to evaluate
body iron stores or the
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...
level in
blood serum.
Other terms used for the same tests are iron panel, iron profile, iron indices, iron status or iron studies.
Tests
*
Serum iron
Serum iron is a medical laboratory test that measures the amount of circulating iron that is bound to transferrin (90%) and serum ferritin (10%). Clinicians order this laboratory test when they are concerned about iron deficiency, which can cause ...
*
Ferritin
Ferritin is a universal intracellular protein that stores iron and releases it in a controlled fashion. The protein is produced by almost all living organisms, including archaea, bacteria, algae, higher plants, and animals. It is the primary ' ...
*
Transferrin
Transferrins are glycoproteins found in vertebrates which bind to and consequently mediate the transport of iron (Fe) through blood plasma. They are produced in the liver and contain binding sites for two Fe3+ ions. Human transferrin is encode ...
*
Total iron-binding capacity
Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) or sometimes transferrin iron-binding capacity is a medical laboratory test that measures the blood's capacity to bind iron with transferrin. Transferrin can bind two atoms of ferric iron (Fe3+) with high affinit ...
(TIBC)
*
Transferrin saturation Transferrin saturation (TS), measured as a percentage, is a medical laboratory value. It is the value of serum iron divided by the total iron-binding capacity of the available transferrin, the main protein that binds iron in the blood, this value ...
(Iron saturation of transferrin)
*
Unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC)
*
Transferrin receptor
Transferrin receptor (TfR) is a carrier protein
A membrane transport protein (or simply transporter) is a membrane protein involved in the movement of ions, small molecules, and macromolecules, such as another protein, across a biological membr ...
(TfR)
Related tests
*
Complete blood count
A complete blood count (CBC), also known as a full blood count (FBC), is a set of medical laboratory tests that provide information about the cells in a person's blood. The CBC indicates the counts of white blood cells, red blood cells and pl ...
(CBC), especially:
**
Hemoglobin
Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyt ...
,
EVF or total
red blood cells (RBC count)
**
Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)
**
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin
The mean corpuscular hemoglobin, or "mean cell hemoglobin" (MCH), is the average mass of hemoglobin (Hb) per red blood cell (RBC) in a sample of blood. It is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. MCH value is diminished in hypoch ...
(MCH) or
MCHC
Diagnosis
* = or normal.
See also
*
Reference ranges for blood tests#Ions and trace metals, for
reference ranges
In medicine and health-related fields, a reference range or reference interval is the range or the interval of values that is deemed normal for a physiological measurement in healthy persons (for example, the amount of creatinine in the blood, o ...
for tests above
References
{{Reflist
Iron Level Blood Test - Personal Home Medical Tests - testnord.co.uk Blood tests
Iron metabolism