Iron Lab Values. Transferrin saturation ts measured as a percentage is a medical laboratory value. You need iron to make red blood cells iron is also an important part of. Serum iron is not a routine test. Serum iron is a medical laboratory test that measures the amount of circulating iron that is bound to transferrin 90 and serum ferritin 10.
It s usually ordered as a follow up when a more common test reveals abnormal results. Tables protocols lab values normal adult 2003 viewarticle 906405. 65 of the iron in the body is bound up in hemoglobin molecules in red blood cells. Iron is an essential nutrient that among other functions is required for the production of healthy red blood cells rbcs it is a critical part of hemoglobin the protein in rbcs that binds oxygen in the lungs and releases it as blood circulates to other parts of the body. Iron tests may be ordered when results from a routine complete blood count cbc show that a person s hemoglobin and hematocrit are low and their red blood cells are smaller and paler than normal microcytic and hypochromic suggesting iron deficiency anemia even though other clinical symptoms may not have developed yet. 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 tells a clinician how much serum iron is bound for instance a value of 15 means that 15 of iron binding sites of transferrin are being occupied by.
Iron tests may be ordered when a person develops signs and symptoms of.
Such tests include complete blood count or hemoglobin test. Serum iron is a medical laboratory test that measures the amount of circulating iron that is bound to transferrin 90 and serum ferritin 10. Tables protocols lab values normal adult 2003 viewarticle 906405. It is the most common nutritional disorder worldwide and accounts for approximately one half of. Iron tests may be ordered when a person develops signs and symptoms of. However normal or high values cannot exclude functional iron deficiency.