RBC Indices

Hemoglobin Concentration

  • Hemoglobin Calculation:

    • PCV / 3 = Hgb

  • Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV):

    • Measures the average size of RBCs.

    • Calculation: PCV / RBC concentration x 10 = MCV (fL)

  • Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH):

    • Measures the mean weight of hemoglobin per average RBC.

    • Calculation: Hemoglobin concentration/ RBC concentration x 10 = MCH (pg)

  • Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration (MCHC):

    • Measures the concentration of hemoglobin per average RBC.

    • Calculation: Hemoglobin concentration/ PCV x 100 = MCHC (g/dL)

RBC Indices

Index

Description

Calculation

MCV

Mean corpuscular volume

Hct / RBC x 10

MCH

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin

Hgb / RBC x 10

MCHC

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

Hgb / Hct x 100

  • Definitions:

    • RBC: Red blood cell volume in millions per microliter (10³/μL)

    • Hct: Hematocrit (packed cell volume) in percent

    • Hgb: Hemoglobin in grams per deciliter (g/dL)

Example Calculations

  • PCV: PCV = 42%

  • RBC Estimation:

    • RBC estimated = PCV / 6 million

    • 42 / 6 = 7

  • MCH Calculation:

    • MCH = 14 / 7 = 2 (pg)

  • MCHC Calculation:

    • MCHC = 14 / 42 x 100 = 0.333 x 100 = 33.3 (g/dL)

  • Hgb Calculation:

    • Hgb = 42 / 3 = 14 (g/dL)

  • MCV Calculation:

    • MCV = 42 / 7 x 10 = 60 (fL)