Mean corpuscular volume
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Search complete. 101 mentions across 37 episodes found for "Mean corpuscular volume".
Sep 12, 2026
speaker_2HOST
Yeah, those are the big three.
speaker_1HOST
And my read on this is that MCV, the mean crepuscular volume, is basically telling us the physical footprint of the cell.
speaker_1HOST
Like, are we looking at a compact car or a massive SUV? Normal is around 82 to 98 femtoliters, right? Am I in the right ballpark?
speaker_2HOST
You are.
speaker_2HOST
The MCV classifies the sheer physical volume.
speaker_2HOST
You have the corpuscular hemoglobin, which is the actual physical weight of the hemoglobin packed inside that single cell.
speaker_2HOST
And then the MCHC measures the concentration of that hemoglobin in a given volume of packed red cells.
speaker_1HOST
So if we break this down into morphological classifications, the first big bucket we run into is microcytic hypochromic anemia.
Alec RezighGUEST
The white count was 10, with a lymphocytic predominance.
Alec RezighGUEST
The hemoglobin was 6.8, with an MCV of 95, and the platelets were 110.
Alec RezighGUEST
The T- TSH and free T4 were normal, as was the hemoglobin A1C.
Alec RezighGUEST
The BNP was 41.
DeborahHOST
So first, we have, like, this total protein that was w- 11.2, and then make me think could this, like, be related, like, with this weight loss and then, like, this back tenderness that the pl- the patient is having.
DeborahHOST
So make me push, like, could be, like, something related to a plasma disorder and make me worry about.
DeborahHOST
And then the patient had, like, this hemoglobin that is really low, and the MCV is normal.
DeborahHOST
Normally, like, when we see the hemoglobin low, we always start, like, for iron studies and go, like, for iron ferritin and, and so we can see if this could be iron deficiency anemia or anemia of chronic disease, but with this, actually with the MCV, uh, normal can be the, the beginning of iron deficiency anemia.
Alex DennisHOST
On physical examination, Sally has decreased sensation to pinprick and vibration of the legs.
Alex DennisHOST
Her hemoglobin is 9.6%, MCV is 118.
Alex DennisHOST
What are your next steps in Sally's management? Hi and welcome to Audiobricks.
Alex DennisHOST
I'm Alex Dennis and this is the brick on megaloplastic anemia.
13 MINS LATER
Alex DennisHOST
One characteristic clinical sign of megaloblastic anemia due to B12 deficiency is glossitis, which in B12 deficiency presents as an enlarged, beefy, shiny tongue, sometimes given the unfortunate name cow tongue.
Alex DennisHOST
In addition, patients with megaloblastic anemia due to B12 deficiency may have neurologic symptoms as mentioned earlier.
Alex DennisHOST
On the complete blood count, megaloblastic anemia is macrocytic, meaning the mean cell volume, or MCV, is greater than 100 femtoliters.
Alex DennisHOST
A high MCV alone is not diagnostic because there are other causes of microcytic anemias, such as alcoholism, that are non-megaloblastic, meaning DNA synthesis is normal.
LeraPANELIST
His platelets were 258.
LeraPANELIST
Hemoglobin was normal too at 14.4 with MCV of 19.
LeraPANELIST
So for the rest of the metabolic panel, his electrolytes were normal, with sodium of 135 and potassium of 3.9. Glucose was normal as well at level at 100.
LeraPANELIST
Creatinine was a bit higher than his baseline at 1.35, with his baseline around one.
15 MINS LATER
LeraPANELIST
His hemoglobin was rising from fourteen on admission to seventeen point one.
LeraPANELIST
Hematocrit was trending in the same direction from forty-one percent to fifty percent.
LeraPANELIST
MCV remained stable at around ninety.
LeraPANELIST
His white blood cells were also dropping.
Callie RoselandGUEST
So sometimes it's gonna be cal- or usually it's calculated from your serum iron and your TIBC together.
Callie RoselandGUEST
And then we have to talk about our CBC or our complete blood count, which is not just looking at iron itself, but this is where we're gonna see our hemoglobin, so oxygen-carrying capacity that we hear a lot about, hematocrit, MCV, MCH, RDW, different white cell combinations, and it's kind of looking at that timestamp of what's going on in our blood as a bigger picture.
Callie RoselandGUEST
And all of these have value.
Callie RoselandGUEST
Even if we look at them individually, they can tell us some things.
Jenette AuchterHOST
And
Ginger Steadwell-SmithGUEST
the last one was my friend, she sent me a video of, I don't know if they were a primary care provider, but it was a doctor on social media saying, for a CBC, all I need to know are these basic things, like a white blood cell count, platelets, hemoglobin, just like the nitty gritty, because the MCH, the MCV, I don't care about that stuff.
Ginger Steadwell-SmithGUEST
And that was the final straw for me for like, it just clicked in my head.
Ginger Steadwell-SmithGUEST
I'm like, what? What are we doing? So when I think of conventional medicine, I think conventional medicine is crisis care.
Kim MillmanGUEST
So I am looking at MCVs.
Kim MillmanGUEST
So MCV is mean corpuscular volume, and that's the width of the red blood cell.
Kim MillmanGUEST
So when it's high-
Ritamarie LoscalzoHOST
Mm-hmm
Kim MillmanGUEST
It's, it's a little bit tricky, but less than 70 is iron deficiency, and I always look at, at ferritin for iron anyway.
Ritamarie LoscalzoHOST
Right.
Kim MillmanGUEST
So I'm looking at a high MCV.
Kim MillmanGUEST
That's a tip that it could be, be B12 or folate.
DyzardHOST
the kegs.
DyzardHOST
Phil, what's got you excited about MCV?
PhilHOST
I feel like I get to play with some characters that, like, I didn't...
PhilHOST
Captain America never worked for me until I put him on the table this week, and it's like, oh, he can actually stand there and take a punch.
Andrea WatkinsGUEST
And the anemia was pretty severe.
Andrea WatkinsGUEST
But the MCV was normal.
Andrea WatkinsGUEST
So it wasn't like it was, you know, microcytic or macrocytic.
Andrea WatkinsGUEST
So they did a followed ferritin and that was normal.
JoshGUEST
Mean corpuscular volume is the size of your cell.
JoshGUEST
It tells a lot.
JoshGUEST
And if I think it really gets under looked, okay, this is your MCV.
JoshGUEST
A normal MCV is like, let's say like 82 to like 99 ish around there.
JoshGUEST
Okay.
JoshGUEST
81 to 99, somewhere in there.
JoshGUEST
If it's too low, if your MCV is like 70, like I have a gentleman, his MCV when he came in was 69.
JoshGUEST
Okay.
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