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Also known as: Fe.

An iron test checks the amount of iron in the blood to see how well the body metabolizes iron. Iron (Fe) is needed for hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen and is also needed for energy, good muscle and organ function. Nearly 70% of the body's iron is bound to hemoglobin in red blood cells, the rest is bound to other proteins (transferrin in blood or ferritin in bone marrow) or stored in other body tissues. When red blood cells die, their iron is then released and carried by transferrin to the bone marrow and to other organs such as the liver and spleen. In the bone marrow, iron is stored and used as necessary to make new red blood cells. Food is the source of all the body's iron, such as liver and other meat, eggs, fish, and leafy green vegetables. The body will need more iron at times of growth (such as during adolescence), for pregnancy, during breast-feeding, or at times when there are low levels of iron in the body (such as after bleeding).