Is the Iron in ours bodies the same Iron on the periodic table of the elements?

Yep, good ol’ Fe.

Here’s the molecular structure of hemoglobin

Funny but odd iron story. When I became pregnant my hematocrit(sp?) showed a very healthy iron level (maybe 45…I can’t remember); six months of healthy eating and daily exercise into the pregnancy, I pass out cold one day in the shower. A blood test shows my iron level as negligible. It remained low throughout my pregnancy even with supplements. Between pregnancies the level came back up; and then dropped dangerously low again with the second pregnancy. My kids really took it all out of me!

Yes, and, no. Most of the iron is in complex with other compounds, like the porphyrin ring in heme or stored in big clumps in molecules such as ferritin. The reason for this is that iron is highly reactive (thus why it is essential for life), but too much free iron would be dangerous.

@Shi; I love it when you talk chemistry.