Wintrobe's Formula for Red Cell Indices (MCV, MCH, MCHC)

The red cell indices (MCV, MCH, MCHC) can help in the assessment of a patient's erythrocytes and can help identify likely diagnoses for anemia.

MCV = mean corpuscular volume =

= (hematocrit as a per cent from 0 to 100) * 10 / (red cell count in millions per microliter) =

= (hematocrit as a decimal fraction from 0 to 1) * 1000 / (red cell count in millions per microliter)

MCH = mean corpuscular hemoglobin =

= (hemoglobin, grams per deciliter) * 10 / (red cell count, in millions per microliter) =

= (hemoglobin, grams per liter) / (red cell count, in millions per microliter)

MCHC = mean corpuscular hemoglobin content =

= (hemoglobin, in gm per deciliter) * 100 / (hematocrit as a per cent from 0 to 100) =

= (hemoglobin, in gm per deciliter) / (hematocrit as a decimal fraction)

Units:

• MCV: femtoliter = 10^(-15) liters = 1 cubic microliter

• MCH: picograms = 10^(-12) grams

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