Biomarkers 8
Hematocrit
Hematocrit is a blood test that measures the percentage of the volume of whole blood that is made up of red blood cells. This measurement depends on the number of red blood cells and the size of red blood cells.
Hemoglobin
Serum hemoglobin is a blood test that measures the level of free hemoglobin in the liquid part of the blood (the serum). Free hemoglobin is the hemoglobin outside of the red blood cells. Most of the hemoglobin is found inside the red blood cells, not in the serum.
MCH
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) is a calculation of the average amount of oxygen-carrying hemoglobin inside a red blood cell.
MCHC
Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) is a calculation of the average percentage of hemoglobin inside a red cell.
MCV
Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is a measurement of the average size of RBCs.
RDW
Red cell distribution width (RDW), which may be included in a CBC, is a calculation of the variation in the size of RBCs.
Red Blood Cell Count
An RBC count is a blood test that tells how many red blood cells (RBCs) you have. RBCs contain hemoglobin, which carries oxygen. How much oxygen your body tissues get depends on how many RBCs you have and how well they work.
White Blood Cell Count
A WBC count is a test to measure the number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the blood. WBCs help fight infections. They are also called leukocytes. There are five major types of white blood cells: basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes (T cells and B cells), monocytes and neutrophils