Abstract
Summary and Conclusion
Isolated gastric irradiation leads to severe achlorhydria and iron deficiency in adult female rats but despite such depletion in pregnant rats, fetuses received a normal complement of iron. The distribution of iron to heme is greater in the fetuses of achylic mothers than in fetuses of normal mothers for reasons that are not clear. Achylic pregnant rats absorbed iron at 75% of the efficiency of normal pregnant rats but this was in the face of severe iron deficiency which ordinarily would be expected to induce greater absorption from an ad libitum diet. Overall there appears to be significant malabsorption of iron in achylic rats which is overcome to some extent during pregnancy.
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