The hemoglobin levels which diagnostic for anemia is less than 13.0 g/dl (grams per deciliter) for adult men and below 12.0 g/dl for adult women.

Anemia literally means "without blood" and has been derived from the Greek language. Anemia actually refers to the disorder where the body suffers from deficiency of hemoglobin i.e. the part of the red blood cells which transfer oxygen to different parts of the body.

Developing Anemia is a slow process and may not be visible immediately. But most common symptoms are fatigue, pale skin, chest pain, dizziness and headache.

Anemia can occur in any of the different forms like excessive blood loss i.e. hemorrhage acute blood cell destruction or inadequacy in the red blood cell production.

Iron deficiency anemia is one of the most common types of anemia and is caused by the absence of adequate levels of iron in the body. This leads to the reduced levels of red blood cells in the body.

Megaloblastic anemia is the type of anemia which occurs due to the limited availability of folic acid or vitamin B-12 to the body.

Aplastic anemia is a most uncommon type of anemia and is due to the inadequacy of the body to make enough red blood cells. It also affects the white blood cells.

Pregnant women can be especially anemic if a regular dose of iron is not taken as the loss of iron during this period is more than during the normal times or even during menstruation.

Anemia can be prevented to a great extent by consuming iron rich food or food which helps us to absorb iron into our body.

Anemia can be treated and the course will depend on the seriousness and cause of the disease. It can be treated with any of the options like blood transfusions, medicines, or a bone marrow transplant.