Hypothesis: Refractory Animias, Preleukimic Conditions, and Fetal Erythropoiesis

REFRACTORY ANEMIA (R.A.) is a convenient term to describe those acquired idiopathic chronic disease characterized by a failure of erythropoiesis with or without changes in granulopoiesis and/or thrombopoiesis. Patients with R.A. are noteworthy for the normal or increased cellularify of the bone marrow. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 All patients with R.A. may be considered as possibly pre- leukemic. Of particular interest is the fact that R.A. erthropoiesis has many striking similarities to that normally seen in the fetus.