Final answer:
Anemia, a condition where the blood has too few red blood cells, impairs oxygen delivery to tissues, potentially causing fatigue, shortness of breath, and cognitive impairments. Its causes include blood loss, decreased RBC production, or excessive RBC destruction. Diagnosis typically involves assessing RBC sizes and production.
Step-by-step explanation:
Anemia is a condition characterized by an inadequate volume of red blood cells (RBCs), negatively affecting the body's ability to transport oxygen. This condition can result from excessive blood loss, faulty or decreased RBC production, or excessive destruction of RBCs. Determining the cause of anemia often involves looking at red blood cell indices like the mean corpuscle volume (MCV) and reticulocyte counts, which assess RBC size and production rates, respectively. Specific forms of anemia, such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia, involve abnormal RBC shapes or hemoglobin deficiencies, leading to decreased oxygen delivery to tissues, resulting in symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath, and an increased risk for infections.
Anemia's impact is comprehensive, not just limited to fatigue and weakness, but extending to impaired cognitive functions, headaches, and irritability due to the oxygen deficit in the brain. When tissue oxygen levels fall, the body attempts to adapt by producing more erythropoietin (EPO), which stimulates erythrocyte production, but this mechanism may not be sufficient in the case of chronic anemia.