The mean corpuscular hemoglobin, or "mean cell hemoglobin" (MCH), is the average mass of hemoglobin per red blood cell in a sample of blood. It is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. MCH value is diminished in hypochromic anemias.[1]
It is calculated by dividing the total mass of hemoglobin by the number of red blood cells in a volume of blood.
MCH=(Hgb*10)/RBC [2]
A normal value in humans is 27 to 31 picograms/cell.[1] Conversion to SI-units: 1 pg of hemoglobin = 0.06207 femtomol.[3] Normal value converted to SI-units: 1.68 - 1.92 fmol/cell.
[edit] Worked example
| Measure |
Units |
Conventional units |
Conversion |
| Hct |
40% |
|
|
| Hb |
100 grams/liter |
10 grams/deciliter |
(deci- is 10-1) |
| RBC |
5E+12 cells/liter |
5E+12 cells/liter |
|
| MCV = Hct / RBC |
8E-14 liters/cell |
80 femtoliters/cell |
(femto- is 10-15) |
| MCH = Hb / RBC |
2E-11 grams/cell |
20 picograms/cell |
(pico- is 10-12) |
| MCHC = MCH / MCV |
250 grams/liter |
25 grams/deciliter |
(deci is 10-1) |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
