IRON METABOLISM AND EXPERIMENTAL ANEMIA Powell51 determined the serum iron values for a series of 70 normal persons and for patients with various types of anemia. Mean values of 143 micrograms per hundred cubic centimeters for men and 117 micrograms for women were obtained. Evidence was obtained showing that the serum iron level falls during the menstrual period in normal women. The serum iron level was generally low in patients with hypochromic anemias, but after the beginning of treatment values as high as 400 micrograms per hundred cubic centimeters were found in many cases. In 2 patients a satisfactory hemoglobin response to iron therapy was obtained only after simultaneous administration of ascorbic acid. The author is inclined to attribute the benefit derived from the use of ascorbic acid to the reduction of ferric iron and its maintenance in the ferrous state during its passage into