What does the red cell distribution width represents?
(A) Anisocytosis (B) Poikilocytosis (C) Level of hypochromia (D) Anisochromia
(A) Answer- A. Anisocytosis Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a parameter that measures variation in red blood cell size or red blood cell volume.RDW is elevated in accordance with variation in red cell size (anisocytosis).The "width" in RDW refers to the width of the volume curve (distribution width, here presented as the Coefficient of Variation, or CV), not the width of the cells.Anisocytosis is a medical term meaning that a patient's red blood cells are of unequal size.Poikilocytosis is variation in cell shape: poikilocytes may be oval, teardrop-shaped, sickle-shaped or irregularly contracted.Anisochromia is a marked variability in the color density of erythrocytes (red blood cells), which indicates unequal hemoglobin content among the red blood cells.Hypochromia means that the red blood cells have less color than normal when examined under a microscope.