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Multiple Choice

After breakdown of red blood cells, iron released from heme can be stored or recycled. Which statement is true about its fate?

When red blood cells are broken down, iron is salvaged by macrophages and can be stored or reused. It is either kept intracellularly as ferritin (and sometimes hemosiderin) in organs like the liver and spleen, or it is released into the blood bound to transferrin and carried to the red bone marrow where new RBCs are produced. The brain is not a disposal site for iron; iron delivery to the brain is tightly controlled and not a normal fate for disposal. So iron may be stored in the liver or spleen or carried to the red bone marrow.

When red blood cells are broken down, iron is salvaged by macrophages and can be stored or reused. It is either kept intracellularly as ferritin (and sometimes hemosiderin) in organs like the liver and spleen, or it is released into the blood bound to transferrin and carried to the red bone marrow where new RBCs are produced. The brain is not a disposal site for iron; iron delivery to the brain is tightly controlled and not a normal fate for disposal. So iron may be stored in the liver or spleen or carried to the red bone marrow.