If 32 packed volume units of cells are separated from 46 volume units of plasma from a blood sample, the haematocrit is _______

Question

bezimeni

3 months ago

12

If 32 packed volume units of cells are separated from 46 volume units of plasma from a blood sample, the haematocrit is _______

percent. The haematocrit value is ______range.

Biology

1 answer:

vlada-n [2.5K] · Answer 1 · 2026-03-19T16:52:56+03:00

Response:

Upon separating 32 volume units of cells from 46 volume units of plasma in a blood sample, the hematocrit computes to 41.02% percent. This hematocrit level is within the normal parameters.

Clarification:

Hello!

Hematocrit, or packed cell volume (PCV), refers to the ratio of red blood cells (vol%) within a blood sample. A common method to determine it involves centrifuging a heparinized blood sample in a capillary tube at 10,000 RPM for five minutes. This process separates the blood into two distinct layers: formed elements (RBCs and WBCs) and plasma.

The lengths of these layers are measured directly from the tube, indicating the volume of packed cells and plasma. Since white blood cells are minimal compared to red blood cells, the formed elements are assumed to represent the red blood cells.

To calculate hematocrit, one divides the volume of packed cells by the total blood sample volume.

$\frac{PCV}{TOTAL(pcv+plasma} * 100$

In this case:

$\frac{32}{32+46} * 100$ = $\frac{32}{78} * 100$ = 41.02%

Normal hematocrit ranges for humans are 40.7% to 50.3% for males and 36.1% to 44.3%. Based on these reference points, this sample falls within the acceptable range.

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