Periperal smear with small pale red cells, anisocytosis and poikilocytosis is suggestive of

A diagnostically significent finding is the disapearance of stainable iron from macrophages in the bone marrow, which is best assessed by performing pressian blue stains on smears of aspirated marrow. In peripheral blood smears, the red cells are small (Microcytic) and pale (Hypochomic) Normal red cells with sufficient heamoglobin hare a zone of central pallor measuring about one third of the cell diameter. In established iron deficiency the zone of pallor is enlarged rin. Poikilocytosis in the form of small, elongated red cells (pencil cells) is also characterstically seen.