Transcription
Hi. This is Medicosis Perfectionals. In a previous video, we have talked about erythrocyte andesis. Today, we're gonna talk about Menger index, because anemia or hematology in general is all about lab results.
What is Mensa index? It's the quotient of MCV divided by RBC count. The measuring unit of MCV is femtoliter, and if RBC count is million per microliter. Okay? Let's jump in.
As you recall from a previous video, the mean corpuscular volume, or MCV, is mean, so average volume of the corpuscle of the red cell in a specimen. So if the red cell is small, it will give me low MCV. If the red cell is large, it will give me high MCV. So the normal range is 80 to 100 femtoliters. In microcytic anemia, MCV is lower than normal, so microcytic anemias have MCV of less than 80. Perfect. 81 femtoliters.
What about RBC count? The number of RBCs per unit volume of blood. I'm counting the actual number of RBCs per unit volume. So, normally, in male, it's between 4.5 to 6 million per microliter. Okay. In female, it's four to five million per microliter. So just remember these numbers. Okay.
But what's the purpose of this Menger index? The main purpose is to differentiate between iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia. In iron deficiency anemia, this index will be more than 13, and thalassemia will be less than 13. So let's see why is that.
In iron deficiency anemia, the MCV is low or very low. It's 60 instead of 80 to 100. RBC count is usually four million per microliter. Okay. So there is a decrease in RBC count and decrease in MCV. Fine. However, the decrease in MCV is very huge compared to this one. MCV over RBC count is 60 over 4. These are, like, for example, not an actual number to memorize. So 15 is the result. 15 is more than 13. Okay. So that's probably iron deficiency anemia.
In thalassemia, it's different. RBC count is not decreased. It's either normal or increased. Why? Nobody knows. So in thalassemia, RBC count is normal to high, and nobody knows why. The MCV will be decreased, not as much necessarily as iron deficiency. Let's say 70, and the RBC count is seven. 70 over seven is 10, so this is more this is less than 13. So more than 13, iron deficiency; less than 13, thalassemia.
Why is that? Because RBC count in thalassemia is normal to high, and nobody knows why.
Let's summarize it. The purpose of Mensa index is to differentiate between iron deficiency anemia, where the result is more than 13, and thalassemia, where the index is less than 13.
Thank you very much. Please subscribe, and see you in the next video. We will talk about the lab results in thalassemia. Bye.