Haemosiderosis is haemosiderin deposition within cells, while haemochromatosis is haemosiderin within cells and interstitium. Haemosiderosis is iron overload that does not cause tissue damage, while haemochromatosis does. Haemosiderosis is arbitrarily differentiated from haemochromatosis by the reversible nature of the iron accumulation in the reticuloendothelial system.The causes of haemochromatosis broken down into two subcategories: primary cases (hereditary or genetically determined) and less frequent secondary cases (acquired during life). People of Celtic (Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Breton etc. ), English, and Scandinavian origin have a particularly high incidence, with about 10% being carriers of the principal genetic variant, the C282Y mutation on the HFE gene, and 1% having the condition. This has been recognised in several laymans alternative names such as Celtic curse, Irish illness, British gene, and Scottish sickness. The overwhelming majority depend on mutations of the HFE gene discovered in 1996, but since then others have been discovered and sometimes are grouped together as "non-classical hereditary haemochromatosis", "non-HFE related hereditary haemochromatosis", or "non-HFE haemochromatosis". Most types of hereditary haemochromatosis have autosomal recessive inheritance, while type 4 has autosomal dominant inheritance. Secondary haemochromatosis
Severe chronic haemolysis of any cause, including intravascular haemolysis and ineffective erythropoiesis (haemolysis within the bone marrow)
Multiple frequent blood transfusions (either whole blood or just red blood cells), which are usually needed either by individuals with hereditary anaemias (such as beta-thalassaemia major, sickle cell anaemia, and Diamond–Blackfan anaemia) or by older patients with severe acquired anaemias such as in myelodysplastic syndromes.
Iron overload or haemochromatosis (also spelled hemochromatosis in American English) indicates increased total accumulation of iron in the body from any cause and resulting organ damage. The most important causes are hereditary haemochromatosis (HH or HHC), a genetic disorder, and transfusional iron overload, which can result from repeated blood transfusions. Signs and symptoms
Organs most commonly affected by haemochromatosis include the liver, heart, and endocrine glands.Haemochromatosis may present with the following clinical syndromes:

liver: chronic liver disease and cirrhosis of the liver. heart: heart failure, cardiac arrhythmia. hormones: diabetes (see below) and hypogonadism (insufficiency of the sex hormone producing glands) which leads to low sex drive and/or loss of fertility in men and loss of menstrual cycle in women. metabolism: diabetes in people with iron overload occurs as a result of selective iron deposition in islet beta cells in the pancreas leading to functional failure and cell death. skeletal: arthritis, from calcium pyrophosphate deposition in joints leading to joint pains. The most commonly affected joints are those of the hands, particularly the knuckles of the second and third fingers. skin: melanoderma (darkening or bronzing of the skin).The skins deep tan color, in concert with insulin insufficiency due to pancreatic damage, is the source of a nickname for this condition: "bronze diabetes" (for more information, see the history of haemochromatosis). Causes
The term haemochromatosis was initially used to refer to what is now more specifically called haemochromatosis type 1 (or HFE-related hereditary haemochromatosis).