The mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, or MCHC, is a measure of the concentration of hemoglobin in a red blood cell. It is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. It is diminished ("hypochromic") in microcytic anemias, and normal ("normochromic") in macrocytic anemias (due to larger cell size, though the haemoglobin amount or MCH is high, the concentration remains normal) . 3-dimensional structure of hemoglobin. ... Human red blood cells Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and are the vertebrate bodys principal means of delivering oxygen from the lungs or gills to body tissues via the blood. ... A complete blood count (CBC) or full blood count (FBC) is a test requested by a doctor or other medical professional that gives information about the cells in a patients blood. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ...

Because of the way automated analysers count blood cells, a very high MCHC (greater than about 370 g/L) may indicate the blood is from someone with a cold agglutinin. This means that when their blood gets colder than 37°C it starts to clump together. This makes the machine think there are a low number of very dense red blood cells. An automated analyser is a laboratory machine designed to measure different chemicals in a number of biological samples quickly, with minimal human assistance. ... Human blood smear: a - erythrocytes; b - neutrophil; c - eosinophil; d - lymphocyte. ... A cold agglutinin is a disease in which the body produces antibodies against Ii antigens of red blood cells, causing the cells to agglutinate (clump together). ...

This is problem usually picked up by the laboratory before the result is reported. The blood is warmed until the cells separate from each other, and quickly put through the machine while still warm.

It is calculated by dividing the hemoglobin by the hematocrit. A normal value is 32 to 36 g/dl.^[1] The hematocrit (Ht or HCT) and packed cell volume (PCV) are measures of the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. ...

See Also

• Mean corpuscular volume
• Mean corpuscular hemoglobin

The mean corpuscular volume, or MCV, is a measure of the average red blood cell volume that is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. ... The mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, or MCHC, is a measure of the concentration of hemoglobin in a red blood cell. ...

References

1. ^ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003648.htm

External links

• FP Notebook
• Cornell
• Medline