Knowledge Check

Prior to the introduction of automated counters, which parameters of the CBC were measured, and which were calculated?

RBC count
MCV
Hct
Hb
MCH
MCHC
Measured
Calculated

True or false: the Hct is a good surrogate for the red blood cell (RBC) count.

a
True
b
False
Correct, because the relationship between Hct and RBC count depends on the red blood cell size.

True or false: in theory you could have a single ginormous red blood cell (RBC) circulating in your blood with a perfectly normal Hct.

a
True
That would be a sight!
b
False

True or false: at some point in time, investigators abandoned the use of the hematocrit (Hct) as an indicator of the red blood cell (RBC) count, and then pivoted to use the Hct with the RBC count to calculate the mean cell volume (MCV).

a
True
b
False

True or false: the use of the hematocrit (Hct) as a measure of red cell mass and as a surrogate for Hb is a relatively late occurrence.

a
True
b
False
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