Red blood cell indices. There are three red blood cell indices: mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). They are measured by a machine and their values are determined from other measurements noted during a CBC. The MCV shows the size of the red blood cells. The MCH value is the amount of hemoglobin in an average red blood cell. The MCHC measures the concentration of hemoglobin in an average red blood cell. These numbers help in the diagnosis of different types of anemia.
Red cell distribution width (RDW). The RDW reports whether all the red cells are about the same width, size, and shape. This helps further classify the types of anemia.
This is part of the CBC – Complete Blood Count Test.