What are the Abbreviations on a Complete Blood Count? banner

By westgate • June 11, 2021

What are the Abbreviations on a Complete Blood Count?

CBC…WBC…RBC…Hb…MCH…

OMG – what do these acronyms mean? If your answer is IDK (I don’t know), read on!

When you receive the results of a Complete Blood Count (CBC), you may be baffled at the abbreviations you see. What do the acronyms stand for and what do the numbers really mean? If you’re confused, here is a cheat sheet of CBC abbreviations:

  • WBC: White Blood Cell count in a volume of blood. Normal range is 3.4 – 9.6 billion cells/liter.
    • Infection-fighting cells.
  • RBC: Red Blood Cell count in a volume of blood. Normal range is 4.35 – 5.65 trillion cells/liter (men); 3.92 – 5.13 trillion cells/liter (women).
    • Oxygen-carrying cells.
  • Hb: Hemoglobin count in a volume of blood. Normal range is 13 – 16.6 grams/deciliter (men); 11.6 – 15 grams/deciliter (women).
    • The oxygen-carrying protein molecule in red blood cells that makes blood appear red.
  • Hct: Hematocrit. Normal range is 38.3-48.6% (men); 35.5 – 44.9% (women).
    • Ratio of red cells to a volume of plasma in your blood.
  • MCV: Mean Cell Volume of a red cell. Normal range is 86 – 98 femtoliters.
  • MCH: Mean Cell Hemoglobin in a red cell. Normal range is 27 – 32 picograms.
  • MCHC: Mean Cell Hemoglobin Concentration in a volume of red cells. Normal range is 32 – 36%.
  • RDW: Red Cell Distribution Width. Normal range is 11 – 15.
    • Variability of red cell size.

Your CBC numbers may be higher or lower than the normal range. While it may be tempting to research online what your results might signify health-wise, the doctors at Westgate Family Physicians highly recommend that you refrain from DIY (do it yourself) diagnosis. Blood work tests can uncover health issues such as cancer and other serious diseases, but it’s impossible to know for sure what your results mean without proper analysis by a health professional. It’s better to avoid putting thoughts of worst-case scenarios into your head causing unnecessary stress. You may simply have a nutritional deficiency, infection or other imbalance that is causing the results.  

The primary care doctors at Westgate Family Physicians can perform complete blood work in Spartanburg, SC. We are proud to provide in-house lab services, saving our patients the time and hassles of going to an outside lab for testing. This service also allows us to provide quicker test results in some cases.

Call our primary care physicians in Spartanburg at (864) 574-0070 or click here to schedule an appointment.