Iron deficiency anaemia means there is too little oxygen-carrying haemoglobin because the body does not have enough available iron.
Haemoglobin is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. In iron deficiency anaemia, too little available iron has led to too little haemoglobin. A full blood count is a group of measurements of blood cells and haemoglobin; it helps assess whether anaemia is present.
Iron deficiency anaemia can develop for different reasons. Clinicians may therefore investigate why the iron shortage occurred rather than treating the name as an explanation of its cause. The term alone does not identify the cause or determine a treatment plan.

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