Red Cell Indices

Question 1

What is the blood volume?

Answer 1

Red cell mass + plasma mass

Question 2

What is the Hb?

Answer 2

Haemoglobin is a protein in RBCs that carries oxygen

Question 3

What is a reticulocyte count?

Answer 3

A high reticulocyte count in the blood stream would indicate an increase in the rate of production of red cells

Question 4

What is the MCV?

Answer 4

Mean corpuscular volume - measures the average size of RBCs

Question 5

What is the MCH?

Answer 5

Mean corpusclar haemoglobin - measures the average amount of hb in a single red blood cell

Question 6

What is the MCHC?

Answer 6

Mean corpuscular hb concentration - measures the hb in red cells and also includes a calculation of size and volume of rbcs

Question 7

What is the RDW?

Answer 7

Red cell distribution width - measures the differences in the volume and size of RBCs

Question 8

What are symptoms of anaemia?

Answer 8

Weakness, fatigue (TATT), pale skin, rapid heartbeat, cold hands and feet, shortness of breath

Question 9

What tests is the FBC made up of?

Answer 9

-Hb
-WBC count
-Plt
-RBC
-HCT or PCV
-Mean cell volume
-MCH
-MCHC

Question 10

What is the normal ranges for PCV / HCT?

Answer 10

-Male: 40-55% or 0.4-0.55
-Female: 26-46%
-Children 2-6: 33-40
.Infants 45-65%

Question 11

Formula and units for MCV:

Answer 11

PCV/RBCs
bring to femtolitres 10*15

Question 12

Formula and units for MCH:

Answer 12

-Hb(g/L) /RCC
Picograms - pg - 10*12

Question 13

Formula and units for MCHC

Answer 13

-Can be expressed in g/L, g/dL or %
: Hb (g/dL or L) /PVC
150g/L = 15 g/Dl

Question 14

Low MCV -

Answer 14

-Decreased size of individual rbcs
-iron def anaemia
-Thalassemia

Larger than normal - vit B12 def or liver disease, haemolytic anaemia, spherocytosis