[Sideroblastic anemias].

The sideroblastic anaemias form a group of disorders of varying aetiology. They are being recognized with increasing frequency, especially as routine staining of bone marrow films for iron is now standard practice in most foreign laboratories. The sideroblastic anaemias have as a common feature the presence of large numbers of pathologic (ringed) sideroblasts in the bone marrow, ineffective erythropoiesis, a high degree of saturation of serum transferrin, increased levels of tissue iron and varying proportions of hypochromic erythrocytes in the peripheral blood. The marrow structure often exhibits dyserythropoietic features. Special attention has been focused by the authors upon the diagnostic and differential diagnostic problems, the ferrokinetics, the preleukemic condition and the therapeutics measures now available. There is also possible to draw some utilizable conclusions from the experiences of the authors.