BIOL 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Mean Corpuscular Volume, Pernicious Anemia, Red Blood Cell
10 Feb 2020
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Mean corpuscular volume (mcv): 78-98 fl(10-15 l) Normal erythrocytes are 7-8 micrometers ( m) in diameter. Their volume is measured in femtoliters (10-15 l). When cells are of the normal size, they are described as normocytes (adjective = normocytic). When they are smaller than normal (diameter 6 m), they are called microcytes (adjective = microcytic). When they are larger than normal (diameter 9 m), they are called macrocytes (adjective = macrocytic). Changes in erythrocyte size aid in the diagnosis of anemias. For example, microcytes are characteristic of iron-deficiency anemia, while macrocytes are characteristic of pernicious anemia. Part of complete blood cell count with differential white blood cell count ( cbc w/diff ) Erythrocytes account for over 95% of all formed elements. Abundance is measured by a red blood cell (erythrocyte) count and estimated by determining the hematocrit (also called the packed cell volume or pvc).
