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Since my recent "tweetorial" about the history of ring sideroblasts & Prussian blue seems to have been well received, I thought I’d follow up with the fascinating and sordid history of the term, “Refractory Anemia” (RA). (This ugly #MDS image is from a book I edited years ago.)/1 
The 1982 #FAB #MDS classification included chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), plus 4 categories with the term RA: 1) RA, 2) RARS (i.e., RA w/ ring sideroblasts), 3) RAEB (RA with excess blasts), and 4) RAEB-t (RAEB in transformation to #AML). But where did "RA" come from?/2
Iron salts had been used since the 17th century to treat “chlorosis” – i.e., the green sickness, characterized by weakness and pallor. Thomas Sydenham (1624–1689) is usually given credit for first rational use. Here's a classic painting of a young woman fainting from chlorosis./3
