Iron metabolism

Article By:

Murray, M. John Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Last reviewed:March 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.353300

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• Iron metabolism, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

A nearly continuous metabolic cycle whereby iron from organic and inorganic sources is converted to form iron-porphyrin compounds, which can be utilized by the bodies of vertebrate animals, including humans. The chemical and physiological processes carried out during iron metabolism involve the absorption of iron from the intestine and play an important role in the proper formation of red blood cells (erythrocytes). Iron metabolism is a key process in which iron-porphyrin complexes (hemes; Fig. 1) and compounds are formed. One such compound is hemoglobin; more than 60% of the iron in the human body is used in hemoglobin metabolism. Iron is also essential for other heme-containing compounds (for example, myoglobin and cytochromes) and for a wide variety of nonheme enzymes, including many in the citric acid cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle or Krebs cycle). See also: Blood; Citric acid cycle; Cytochrome; Enzyme; Hemoglobin; Iron; Metabolism

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