Humans need a certain amount of certain metals to function normally. Most metals are used as cofactors or prosthetics in enzymes, catalyzing specific reactions and serving essential roles. The essential metals for humans are: Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Copper, Vanadium, Chromium, Manganese, Iron, Cobalt, Nickel, Zinc, Molybdenum, and Cadmium. Anemia symptoms are caused by lack of a certain essential metal. Anemia can be associated with malnourishment or faulty metabolic processes, usually caused by a genetic defect.
Examples of specific types of metal anemia include:
* Iron: common simple anemia (iron deficiency), results in the loss of functional heme proteins (hemoglobin, myoglobin, etc.), which are responsible for oxygen transport or utilization of oxygen. Pernicious anemia comes from a lack of vitamin B-12 (which contains a cobalt complex called cobalamin), which then in turn interferes with the function of red blood cells. 
* Zinc: Zinc anemia is mostly due to diet can result in growth retardation. 
* Copper: Copper anemia in infants results from infants with a poor diet and can cause heart disease.