An MCHC value above 360 g/L could indicate the presence of which cell type?

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Multiple Choice

An MCHC value above 360 g/L could indicate the presence of which cell type?

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) reflects how concentrated hemoglobin is inside a red cell. When a cell loses membrane but keeps most of its hemoglobin, the cell becomes smaller and denser, so the hemoglobin concentration per unit volume rises. Spherocytes fit this pattern: they are small, dense cells without the central pallor, due to membrane loss. This leads to an elevated MCHC, often above 360 g/L, a hallmark seen in hereditary spherocytosis. The other options don’t typically produce such a marked increase in MCHC: sickle cells can vary but aren’t characteristically hyperchromic; target cells have more membrane and can show normal or even lower MCHC; Howell-Jolly bodies are nuclear remnants inside red cells and don’t raise MCHC.

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) reflects how concentrated hemoglobin is inside a red cell. When a cell loses membrane but keeps most of its hemoglobin, the cell becomes smaller and denser, so the hemoglobin concentration per unit volume rises. Spherocytes fit this pattern: they are small, dense cells without the central pallor, due to membrane loss. This leads to an elevated MCHC, often above 360 g/L, a hallmark seen in hereditary spherocytosis. The other options don’t typically produce such a marked increase in MCHC: sickle cells can vary but aren’t characteristically hyperchromic; target cells have more membrane and can show normal or even lower MCHC; Howell-Jolly bodies are nuclear remnants inside red cells and don’t raise MCHC.

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