mean corpuscular hemoglobin

hemoglobin /he·mo·glo·bin/ (he´mo-glo″bin) the oxygen-carrying pigment of erythrocytes, formed by developing erythrocytes in the bone marrow; a hemoprotein made up of four different polypeptide globin chains that contain between 141 and 146 amino acids. Hemoglobin A is normal adult hemoglobin and hemoglobin F is fetal hemoglobin. Many abnormal hemoglobins have been reported; the first were given capital letters such as hemoglobin E, H, M, and S, and later ones have been named for the place of discovery. Homozygosity for hemoglobin S results in sickle cell anemia, heterozygosity in sickle cell trait. Symbol Hb.

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fetal hemoglobin  that forming more than half of the hemoglobin of the fetus, present in minimal amounts in adults and abnormally elevated in certain blood disorders.

mean corpuscular hemoglobin  (MCH) the average hemoglobin content of an erythrocyte.

muscle hemoglobin  myoglobin.

reduced hemoglobin  that not combined with oxygen.

hemoglobin S  the most common abnormal hemoglobin, with valine substituted for glutamic acid at position six of the beta chain, resulting in the abnormal erythrocytes called sickle cells, and causing sickle cell anemia.

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Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)

A measurement of the average weight of hemoglobin in a red blood cell.

Mentioned in: Red Blood Cell Indices

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mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH),

an estimate of the amount of hemoglobin in an average erythrocyte, derived from the ratio between the amount of hemoglobin and the number of erythrocytes present. The normal value of MCH is between 28 and 32 picograms of hemoglobin per red blood cell. See also hypochromic anemia, iron deficiency anemia.