Mean corpuscular volume
(MCV)

Sample type

Blood sample (EDTA Blood)

Uses

measures the average size of your red blood cells , If your red blood cells are too small or too large, it could be a sign of a blood disorder such as anemia, a vitamin deficiency.

Precautions

Diet, activity level, medicines, a women’s menstrual cycle, and other considerations can affect the results

Interfering factors

Patients with vitamin B12 deficiency and presentation of nausea, increased flatulence, diarrhea, weight loss, and anorexia can increase MCV.

Pre analytical errors

1. Cold agglutination sample reduces the number of blood cells as a number, but as a volume, it increases in size and causes an increase in MCV.

2. Samples stored at room temperature for several hours may give falsely high readings for MCV, because red blood cells swell as they absorb water from the plasma.

Corrective action

Appropriate temperature and other preservation factors are important.

Post analytical errors

Wrong calculation of MCV

Corrective action

Use the corrective calculation formula to calculate MCV result ( MCV = hematocrit (percent) x 10 / red blood cell count (millions/mm3 blood) .

Normal range

• Adult/elderly/child: 80-95 fL

• Newborn: 96-108 fL