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pernicious anemia
Tuesday 12 June 2007
Biermer’s anemia, Addison’s anemia, or Addison–Biermer anemia
| WKP | eMedicine |
Definition: Pernicious anemia is one of many types of the larger family of megaloblastic anemias. It is caused by loss of gastric parietal cells which are responsible, in part, for the secretion of intrinsic factor, a protein essential for subsequent absorption of vitamin B12 in the ileum.
Usually seated in an atrophic gastritis, the autoimmune destruction of gastric parietal cells (and autoantibody inactivation of intrinsic factor) leads to a lack of intrinsic factor.
See also
anemias
atrophic gastritis