Iron in the duodenal mucosa of normal, iron-loaded, and iron-deficient rats.

Iron absorption studies with oral 59FeSO4 2.2% respectively) . Compared with the were performed on 13 iron-depleted, 1 1 normal controls, iron was decreased in iron-loaded, and 10 control rats, and nonthe epithelial cells of the iron-defIcient heme iron was determined in both isogroup, whereas higher concentrations lated epithelial cells and defoliated muwere observed in the defoliated mucosa cosa obtained from the duodenum. Mean of iron-loaded animals. The latter observaabsorption by the control animals was tion was confirmed by the presence of 1 8.5% of the dose. Both iron-depleted and iron-laden macrophages seen in sections iron-loaded groups showed significant difof the lamina propria of the iron-loaded ferences in iron absorption ( 54.5% and rats.