What are the units for MCHC?

What are the units for MCHC?

• A. g/dl
• B. mg/dl
• C. fl
• D. pg

Answer: (A)

MCHC measures how concentrated hemoglobin is within red blood cells, so it’s a concentration expressed as grams of hemoglobin per deciliter of blood (g/dL). Since hemoglobin is quantified in g/dL and hematocrit (the percentage of blood made up of RBCs) is used in the calculation, the resulting value is a concentration in g/dL. Using milligrams per deciliter would just scale the number by ten, which isn’t the standard. Units like femtoliters or picograms describe cell size or mass per cell, not concentration within cells, so they aren’t used for MCHC.

MCHC measures how concentrated hemoglobin is within red blood cells, so it’s a concentration expressed as grams of hemoglobin per deciliter of blood (g/dL). Since hemoglobin is quantified in g/dL and hematocrit (the percentage of blood made up of RBCs) is used in the calculation, the resulting value is a concentration in g/dL. Using milligrams per deciliter would just scale the number by ten, which isn’t the standard. Units like femtoliters or picograms describe cell size or mass per cell, not concentration within cells, so they aren’t used for MCHC.