Glossitis of the tongue in iron deficiency anemia has been described as diffuse or patchy atrophy with tenderness or burning. One cause of iron deficiency anemia is sideropenic dysphagia (Plummer–Vinson or Paterson–Brown–Kelly syndrome) which is also characterized by esophageal webbing and dysphagia. Pernicious anemia is usually caused by autoimmune destruction of gastric parietal cells. Parietal cells secrete intrinsic factor which is required for the absorption of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 deficiency results in megaloblastic anemia and may present as glossitis. The appearance of the tongue in vitamin B12 deficiency is described as "beefy" or "fiery red and sore". There may be
Anthroposophic medicine part it complements conventional medicine, and in part it substitutes for it. In 2008, Ernst wrote that it was being promoted as an "extension to conventional medicine". Ernst writes that Steiner used imagination and insight as a basis for his ideas, drawing mystical knowledge from the occult Akashic Records, a work which is supposedly situated on the astral plane, and which Steiner said was accessible to him via his intuitive powers. On this basis, Steiner proposed "associations between four postulated dimensions of the human body (physical body, etheric body, astral body, and ego), plants, minerals, and the cosmos". Steiner also