Home▸Medical Technology & Imaging Physics▸Vitamin B12 and Folate: The Absorption Pathway Behind Healthy Red Blood Cells

🩸 Vitamin B12 and Folate: The Absorption Pathway Behind Healthy Red Blood Cells

Explore how vitamin B12 and folate are absorbed through very different pathways, why both are essential for DNA synthesis in bone marrow, and why folate alone can mask a dangerous B12 deficiency.

Medical Technology & Imaging Physics3DModerate60 FPS

This simulator demonstrates the distinct absorption pathways of vitamin B12 and folate, showing how blocking intrinsic factor, parietal cells, or the terminal ileum halts B12 uptake while folate absorption continues largely unaffected.

🔬 What It Demonstrates

🎮 How to Use

Toggle conditions such as gastric surgery, pernicious anemia, or terminal ileum disease to see how each disrupts B12 absorption specifically, then compare the resulting effects on red blood cell size, anemia severity, and neurological risk.

💡 Did You Know?

Did you know that the body can store several years' worth of vitamin B12 in the liver, which is why B12 deficiency from absorption failure often takes years to produce noticeable symptoms, unlike folate deficiency, which can develop within weeks?

⚙ Under the hood

Explore how vitamin B12 and folate are absorbed through very different pathways, why both are essential for DNA synthesis in bone marrow, and why folate alone can mask a dangerous B12 deficiency.

vitamin b12folatepernicious anemiaintrinsic factormegaloblastic anemiahematologynutritiondna synthesis

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install