What if you were a plumber and couldn't find the leak? That
is the situation that sometimes frustrates doctors asked
to. evaluate a patient with signs of iron deficiency anemia
due to blood loss. There are many types of anemia. Iron
Defficiency Anemia is a common type and most often occurs in
pregnant women or menstruating women due to the monthly loss
of blood. But when significant iron deficiency anemia occurs
in women after the age of menopause or in men, it is often a
sign of the loss of blood from somewhere else - usually the
digestive tract. This blood loss may be very gradual and not
visible to the patient. But over time, the continued loss of
blood can deplete the body of iron and anemia develops.
If a doctor suspects that anemia is due to intestinal
bleeding, special tests are usually ordered to help the
doctor "find the leak." This is a bigger task than most
people realize since the average adult digestive tract is
approximately 30 feet in length. The top 4 feet (Upper GI,
or UGI TRACT) includes the esophagus (foodpipe) and stomach
and first portion of the small intestine, called the
duodenum. The bottom 6 feet makes up the COLON and rectum.
In between, lies the rest of the 20 feet of SMALL INTESTINE
where the process of digestion actually
occurs
