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The normal mean corpuscular volume (abbreviated to MCV on full blood count results, and also known as mean cell volume) is approximately 80–100 fL. When the MCV is <80 fL, the red cells are described as microcytic and when >100 fL, macrocytic (the latter occurs in macrocytic anemia). The MCV is the average red blood cell size.
BUN is an indication of kidney health. The normal range is 2.1–7.1 mmol/L or 6–20 mg/dL. [1]The main causes of an increase in BUN are: high-protein diet, decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (suggestive of kidney failure), decrease in blood volume (hypovolemia), congestive heart failure, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, [5] fever, rapid cell destruction from infections, athletic ...
The MCV can be conceptualized as the total volume of a group of cells divided by the number of cells. For a real world sized example, imagine you had 10 small jellybeans with a combined volume of 10 μL. The mean volume of a jellybean in this group would be 10 μL / 10 jellybeans = 1 μL / jellybean. A similar calculation works for MCV.
Measurements of urea and creatinine (Cr) in the blood are used to assess renal function. For historical reasons, the lab test measuring urea is known as "blood urea nitrogen" (BUN) in the US. The BUN:Cr ratio is a useful measure in determining the type of azotemia and will be discussed in each section below. A normal BUN:Cr is equal to 15. [3]
Thalassemia can cause microcytosis. Depending upon how the terms are being defined, thalassemia can be considered a cause of microcytic anemia, or it can be considered a cause of microcytosis but not a cause of microcytic anemia. There are many causes of microcytosis, which is essentially only a descriptor.
High RDW may be a result of the presence of fragments, groups of agglutination, and/or abnormal shape of red blood cells. [7] Iron-deficiency anemia usually presents with high RDW and low MCV. Folate and vitamin B 12 deficiency anemia usually presents with high RDW and high MCV.
This can shift the ratio of red blood cells towards younger, larger cells. This shift may be reflected in higher than normal mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values, an indicator of red blood cell size. [4] This is not a pathological condition but may indicate a propensity toward iron deficiency anemia due to high red blood cell turnover.
The index is calculated from the results of a complete blood count. If the quotient of the mean corpuscular volume (MCV, in fL) divided by the red blood cell count (RBC, in million per microliter) is less than 13, β-thalassemia trait is said to be more likely. If the result is greater than 13, then iron-deficiency anemia is said to be more likely.