In which condition would you expect to see RBC microcytosis prior to hypochromia?

Microcytosis refers to the presence of smaller-than-normal red blood cells (RBCs), while hypochromia indicates that these cells contain less hemoglobin than usual. In cases of iron deficiency anemia, microcytosis can occur before hypochromia becomes evident. This is primarily due to the way the body responds to insufficient iron levels.

In iron deficiency anemia, as the body lacks iron, erythropoiesis begins to produce smaller RBCs (microcytic) as a compensatory mechanism to maintain some level of red cell production. Initially, the body may still produce cells that are functional but are smaller in size because there is not enough iron available to synthesize hemoglobin adequately. Over time, as the condition progresses and iron deficiency worsens, the RBCs also become hypochromic due to insufficient hemoglobin production.

In conditions such as thalassemia, RBC microcytosis is often accompanied by hypochromia from the outset, and chronic blood loss typically results in a gradual deterioration of both size and color of the RBCs. Lead poisoning can lead to microcytic anemia as well, but the presence of hypochromia appears more contemporaneously with microcytosis rather than showing