@usmlesma: iron metabolism from The liver blood stream:What happens to iron after you eat it? Follow its journey from the duodenum to the bone marrow—where it becomes part of hemoglobin. Absorption → transport → storage → recycling The key regulator is hepcidin, the liver hormone that controls ferroportin, the body’s iron-export gate. Low hepcidin: ferroportin stays open → more iron enters the blood High hepcidin: ferroportin is degraded → iron becomes trapped inside enterocytes and macrophages Transferrin: transports iron through the circulation Ferritin: stores iron inside cells Macrophages: recycle iron from aging red blood cells Board-exam pearl: inflammation raises IL-6, which raises hepcidin and causes iron-restricted erythropoiesis—an important mechanism in anemia of chronic disease. Voice-over hook: “You don’t simply absorb iron—your liver decides whether the gate stays open.” Presented by Sinoe Medical Association Danil Hammoudi, MD & Imene Benayache, MD For medical education only.
