Hemoglobin Measurement Lab

👩 Maria Santos

32 years old, Female

Diagnosis: Iron Deficiency Anemia
Microcytic, hypochromic

👵 Maude Patterson

58 years old, Female

Diagnosis: Pernicious Anemia
Macrocytic, normochromic

Direct Measurement: Spectrophotometry

Instructions: Follow the steps to prepare the sample and measure hemoglobin concentration using the spectrophotometer. Hemoglobin absorbs light at 540 nm - the more hemoglobin present, the more light is absorbed.

Sample Preparation

Step: Blood sample ready

Spectrophotometer (540 nm)

Absorbance at 540 nm

Hemoglobin Concentration

-- g/dL

Record Measured Hemoglobin (g/dL)

Calculate MCH (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin)

Instructions: MCH tells you the average amount of hemoglobin in ONE red blood cell. It's calculated from measured values.

Known Values from Automated Analyzer:

Hemoglobin: --

RBC Count: --

Formula:

MCH = (Hemoglobin / RBC count) × 10

Calculate MCH (pg - picograms per cell)

💡 What does MCH tell you? MCH is the average weight of hemoglobin in one RBC. Low MCH means cells don't have much hemoglobin (hypochromic). Normal range: 27-31 pg.

Calculate MCHC (Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin Concentration)

Instructions: MCHC tells you the concentration of hemoglobin within the RBC volume. It's the best indicator of whether cells are hypochromic (pale) or normochromic (normal color).

Known Values:

Hemoglobin: --

Hematocrit: --

Formula:

MCHC = (Hemoglobin / Hematocrit) × 100

Calculate MCHC (g/dL)

💡 What does MCHC tell you? MCHC is the concentration of hemoglobin in the RBC volume. Low MCHC = hypochromic (pale cells), normal MCHC = normochromic. This is KEY for distinguishing different anemias! Normal range: 32-36 g/dL.

🔬 Hemoglobin Measurement Lab