kids encyclopedia robot

Pernicious anemia facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
GASTRIC PARIETAL CELL ANTIBODIES
Immunofluorescence staining pattern of gastric parietal cell antibodies on a stomach section

Pernicious anemia is a medical problem that causes a person to have too few red blood cells (anemia) because their intestines cannot absorb vitamin B12 properly. A special protein, called intrinsic factor, helps the body get vitamin B12 from food such as meat, poultry and dairy foods. Intrinsic factor is made by cells in the stomach. If there is not enough intrinsic factor, the small intestine is unable to get the vitamin B12.

There are several causes of pernicious anemia. These include a weakened stomach lining or a problem with the body's immune system, which causes it to attack the intrinsic factor. In some rare cases it can be passed down through families. Treatment is usually a regular injection of vitamin B12.

Intrinsic factor was discovered by Thomas Addison.

Images for kids

  • Autoimmune atrophic gastritis, intermed, mag

    Atrophic gastritis showing patchy atrophy of oxyntic mucosa

  • Advert, treatment for pernicious anaemia, 1930 Wellcome L0035380

    1930 advert for liver extract to treat pernicious anemia

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Anemia perniciosa para niños

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Pernicious anemia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.