The Hematocrit of Capillary Blood

Abstract

THE measurement of the packed red-cell volume (or hematocrit) of the venous blood has long been recognized as a useful aid in the study of blood in a large number of clinical conditions. The technic described by Wintrobe¹ in 1929, using venous blood, has gained almost universal acceptance and is regarded as one of the simplest and most reliable of methods. Its value is further enhanced in that the commonly accepted "normal values" for the mean red-cell volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration have been calculated, using packed-cell-volume levels determined by the Wintrobe² technic.However, this valuable . . .