RBC's Flashcards
Erythron
All erythroid cells including mature in the blood and immature in the blood marrow
sHct
Spun hematocrit or PCV. Percentage of blood volume occupied by erythrocytes
Hgb
Blood hemoglobin concentration. RBC are lysed and a reagent is added that binds to the released hemoglobin and the amount of color is used to calculate the concentration
RBC concentration
Measures the number of RBC within a certain volume of blood. Blood gets diluted and will then count the number within a defined volume to find concentrations
MCV
Mean cell volume. Tells us the average volume but not the distribution of sizes. Measured
MCHC
Mean cell Hgb concentration per RBC. Calculated
High MCV
Macrocytic
Normal MCV
Normocytic
Low MCV
Microcytic
RDW
Measures the degree of variation in RBC. Detects anisocytosis (variability in RBC size)
Low MCHC
Hypochromic
Normal MCHC
Normochromic
High MCHC
Hyperchromic. This should not happen. Analyzer assumes that the Hgb is all intracellular but if for some reason there is Hgb outside of the cell can give abnormal high MCHC
Causes for increased MCHC
-Hemolysis
-Administration of oxyglobin
-Lipemia (interfering substances)
MCH
Average amount of Hgb (not concentration) per RBC. Don’t generally used to classify anemia. Uses Hgb concentration and RBC concentrations instead of hematocrit. Calculated