While the FBC does not diagnose specific conditions, it checks for variations in blood cell numbers and characteristics that may warrant further investigation or simply reflect normal physiological variations.
• Red blood cell count — the number of red cells per litre of blood
• Haemoglobin concentration — the oxygen-carrying protein within red cells
• Haematocrit (packed cell volume) — the proportion of blood made up of red cells
• Mean cell volume (MCV) — the average size of red blood cells
• Mean cell haemoglobin (MCH) — the average amount of haemoglobin per red cell
• Mean cell haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) — the average concentration of haemoglobin in red cells
• Red cell distribution width (RDW) — variation in red cell size
• White blood cell count — the total number of white cells
• White cell differential — breakdown of different white cell types (neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils)
• Platelet count — the number of platelets in the blood
• Mean platelet volume (MPV) — the average size of platelets
