Anemia

Anemia is defined as “a condition in which the number of red blood cells (and consequently their oxygen carrying capacity) is insufficient to meet the body's physiologic needs”. The main congenital and/or acquired anemias discussed in this entry include the hypochromic (and often microcytic), macrocytic, hemolytic, and aplastic anemias. Several noteworthy, or more common, forms of these conditions are discussed, followed by a brief review of ostensibly skeletal signatures (porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia) of some of the anemias that may be seen in archaeological remains.