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Hematocrit

Hematocrit is a measure of how much space (volume) the red blood cells take up in the blood. A hematocrit check is often used to test for anemia, which is a decrease in the amount of oxygen-carrying substance (hemoglobin) found in red blood cells.

The hematocrit value may be given as a percentage of red blood cells in a volume of blood. For example, a hematocrit of 33 means that 33% of the blood's volume is composed of red cells. It may also be measured in milliliters per deciliter (mL/dL) of blood.

Author Jan Nissl, RN, BS
Editor Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA
Associate Editor Tracy Landauer
Primary Medical Reviewer Patrice Burgess, MD
- Family Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Joseph O'Donnell, MD
- Hematology/Oncology
Last Updated December 4, 2006

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: December 04, 2006
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