A complete blood count is a diagnostic test that uses a blood sample to estimate the values of various components found in human blood. These values are based on the healthy functioning of the body. There are ranges applicable to each value based on research that has been able to understand what value is considered to be healthy. People who are tested within the range are considered to be healthy whereas people who fall out of the range are considered to be ill or suffering from some disease.
The complete blood count is conducted as a routine test in almost every medical condition. It is also conducted as part of a standard health checkup that people may opt for from time to time to evaluate their health. The complete blood count test is usually carried out whenever a patient has been admitted to hospital or when a patient has reported to a doctor at a clinic. This makes the CBC test one of the most common medical tests in the world. It is conducted by collecting blood from a patient's upper forearm. A single sample of blood is used to test all the various levels that comprise a complete blood count test.
The complete blood count normal ranges for various important components of the blood are as follows. For white blood cells, the normal value is between 4000 and 10,000 cells per millimeter cubed or mm3. For red blood cells the value is much higher at between 4 million and 6 million cells per millimeter cubed. Another important value in the complete blood count is the value of hematocrit. This is a ratio between the volume occupied by red blood cells versus the total volume of the blood. The normal value is between 48% and 52% for men and 38% to 48% for women. Hemoglobin is measured as grams per deciliter. The normal value for this is higher for men, between 13 and 18 grams whereas for women, normal values lie between 12 and 16 grams.
The health of the red blood cells is measured by a value known as the mean corpuscular volume. This is the average size of each red blood cell. The measurement used here is between 80 and 100 femtoliters. A further test related to the health of the red blood cells is the mean corpuscular hemoglobin or the amount of hemoglobin present in each red blood cell. This value is normal between 27 and 32 picograms.