The mean red blood cell volume (MCV) indicates the average size of individual red blood cells in the blood. The normal value of MCV for a normal adult is 80-100 fl. If the MCV is below 80, the patient is said to have small red blood cells.
In clinical practice, hemoglobin volume, average red blood cell volume and average red blood cell hemoglobin concentration are often combined to determine whether a patient has anemia and the type of anemia.
If the patient’s hemoglobin value is lower than normal, the patient is anemic, and the type of anemia is determined by the average red blood cell volume value. If the average volume of red blood cells is below 80 fl, it is called microcytic anemia; if it is above 100 fl, it is called macrocytic anemia; if it is between 80 and 100 fl, it is orthocytic anemia. This narrows down the etiology and combined with other relevant tests can clarify the cause of the patient’s anemia.
Small-cell anemia is common in clinical practice, such as iron-deficiency anemia, iron-granulocytic anemia, maritime anemia and chronic disease anemia are all small-cell anemia.
It is important to note that if the laboratory tests indicate that the values of hemoglobin and average hemoglobin concentration are normal, and only the average volume of red blood cells is lower than normal, it is not clinically significant.
Therefore, for anemic patients, low mean red blood cell volume is mostly seen in small cell anemia, such as iron deficiency anemia, iron granulocytic anemia, maritime anemia and chronic disease anemia, but it needs to be combined with medical history, family history and relevant laboratory tests to further clarify the specific cause and diagnosis and treatment