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Home > Med School Radio > Dr. Krafts' Path Bites: The red cell distribution width
Podcast: Med School Radio
Episode:

Dr. Krafts' Path Bites: The red cell distribution width
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:01:27
Publish Date: 2016-10-24 03:58:11
Description: The RDW, or red cell distribution width, is a measure of how much the red cells vary in size. The official definition is "the standard deviation of the MCV" - the bigger the RDW, the more the cells vary in size. The RDW can be helpful in diagnosing different kinds of anemia. For example, in iron deficiency anemia, the RDW is increased (because as the patient’s iron continues to decline, each new wave of red cells gets smaller and smaller – so you have a pretty big range of sizes of red cells).
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