Zoology - Digestion and Absorption Question with Solution | TestHub
Shyamprasad is a 34 year old priest at a temple. He is a pure vegetarian and has never consumed meat, egg or fishes. He complains of weakness, paleness and exhaustion. On this blood report, the erythrocytes are larger than normal. Which of these could be a possible cause of this?
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Weakness, paleness and exhaustion are symptoms of anemia. In iron deficiency anemia the size of erythrocytes will be smaller than the normal since hemoglobin is not formed. In malaria and sickle cell disease, there is anemia due to blood loss (hemolytic anemia). Deficiency of vitamin B-12 (cyanocobalamin) and folic acid causes immature RBCs in the blood. Immature RBCs are larger than mature RBCs. Also, deficiency of vitamin B-12 is commonly found in vegetarians as most of the dietary sources of this vitamin are animal products.
