Iron absorption is normal in hbd mice. The absorption of iron in wild-type () and hbd (▪) mice on either a control or iron-deficient diet was determined following the oral administration of ⁵⁹FeCl₃. Whole-body counting for ⁵⁹Fe was carried out 1 hour and 5 days after the dose, and absorption is expressed as the percentage of the initial dose retained by the animals after 5 days. The data represent the mean ± SEM (n = 3-7).