Format: Paperback Verified Purchase. This is an awesome book, Just what I needed for my class to read. I am doing a unit on biomes and this book hits the spot. It is informative and gives just the tight amount of information without being overbearing for the students in my class.
Pernicious anemia is a rare blood disorder characterized by the inability of the body to properly utilize vitamin B12, which is essential for the development of red blood cells. Most cases result from the lack of the gastric protein known as intrinsic factor, without which vitamin B12 cannot be absorbed.
When the stomach does not make enough intrinsic factor, the intestine cannot properly absorb vitamin B12. Common causes of pernicious anemia include: 1  Weakened stomach lining (atrophic gastritis). 2  An autoimmune condition in which the body's immune system attacks intrinsic factor protein or the cells that make it.