Investigation of the aetiology of haemosiderosis in the starling(Sturnus vulgaris)

Abstract
Birds with haemosiderosis absorbed up to 10% of an orally administered test dose of radioactive iron, even when the hepatic iron concentrations were markedly increased. In contrast, rats which were orally loaded with iron to produce a comparable hepatic iron concentration absorbed only ‘ about 1% of administered 59Fe. It is concluded that the absorption of iron at the intestinal mucosa in avian species is not as tightly regulated as that in some mammals.