hematocrit

Thân thiện

A lab technician uses a hematocrit to analyze a blood sample.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A measuring instrument: A device, typically a centrifuge, used to separate the cellular components of blood from the liquid plasma in order to measure their relative volumes.
   • A measurement or ratio: The percentage of the total blood volume that is occupied by red blood cells. This value is determined using the hematocrit instrument.

Usage Examples

• Noun (as a measurement):
  • A low hematocrit can be a sign of anemia.
  • The doctor ordered a blood test to check my hematocrit level.
• Noun (as an instrument):
  • The lab technician used a hematocrit to process the blood sample.

Advanced Usage

• The term is often used interchangeably with "packed cell volume" (PCV).
• In medical reports, it is commonly abbreviated as Hct.
  • The patient's Hct was 42%.

Variants and Related Words

• Hematocrit centrifuge (n): The specific type of centrifuge used to perform the test.
• Microhematocrit (n): A method using small capillary tubes for the test.

Synonyms

• Packed cell volume (PCV): The ratio measurement itself.
• Erythrocyte volume fraction: A more technical term for the measurement.

Different Meanings

The word hematocrit has two closely related but distinct meanings: 1. The instrument (the centrifuge tube or device) used to make the measurement. 2. The numerical result (the percentage) obtained from the test. This is its most common meaning in a medical context.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a measuring instrument to determine (usually by centrifugation) the relative amounts of corpuscles and plasma in the blood
2. the ratio of the volume occupied by packed red blood cells to the volume of the whole blood as measured by a hematocrit

Từ đồng nghĩa

• haematocrit
• packed cell volume