Lupus Site - a guide for lupus patients and their families

A screening test used to diagnose and manage many diseases. A CBC measures the status of important features of the blood, including the:
number of red blood cells (RBCs)
number of white blood cells (WBCs)
number of platelets
total amount of hemoglobin in the blood
percentage of blood composed of cells, or hematocrit
mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)
mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC)
mean corpuscular volume (MCV)

A blood sample is taken from a vein on the forearm or hand.

Normal values are:
RBC (value changes with altitude): Male, 4.7-6.1 million cells per microliter; female, 4.2-5.4 million cells per microliter
WBC: 4,500-10,000 cells per microliter
hematocrit (varies with altitude): Male, 40.7-50.3%; female, 36.1-44.3%
hemoglobin (varies with altitude): Male, 13.8-17.2 grams per deciliter; female, 12.1-15.1grams per deciliter
MCV: 80-95 femtoliter
MCH: 27-31 picograms per cell
MCHC: 32-36 grams per deciliter