Red blood cell indices

Mean corpuscular volume (MCV) is the average volume of a red blood cell and is calculated by dividing the hematocrit (Hct) by the concentration of red blood cell count.

• ${\displaystyle {\textit {MCV}}={\frac {\textit {Hct}}{[{\textit {RBC}}]}}}$
• Normal range: 80-100 fL (femtoliter)

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) is the average amount of hemoglobin (Hb) per red blood cell and is calculated by dividing the hemoglobin by the red blood cell count.

• ${\displaystyle MCH={\frac {Hb}{RBC}}}$
• Normal range: 27-31 pg/cell

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) is the average concentration of hemoglobin per unit volume of red blood cells and is calculated by dividing the hemoglobin by the hematocrit.

• ${\displaystyle MCHC={\frac {Hb}{Hct}}}$
• Normal range: 32-36 g/dL

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW or RDW-CV or RCDW and RDW-SD) is a measure of the range of variation of red blood cell (RBC) volume, yielding clues about morphology.

The reticulocyte production index (RPI) or corrected reticulocyte count (CRC) represents the true significance of the absolute reticulocyte count to provide some reflection of erythropoietic demand and supply. The immature reticulocyte fraction (IRF) goes a step further to cast more light on the same question.