hematocrit

he·mat·o·crit

noun \hi-ˈma-tə-krət, -ˌkrit\

Definition of HEMATOCRIT

: the ratio of the volume of red blood cells to the total volume of blood as determined by separation of red blood cells from the plasma usually by centrifugation

Origin of HEMATOCRIT

International Scientific Vocabulary hemat- + Greek kritēs judge, from krinein to judge — more at certain

First Known Use: circa 1903

he·mat·o·crit

noun    (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of HEMATOCRIT

1

: an instrument for determining usually by centrifugation the relative amounts of plasma and corpuscles in blood

2

: the percent of the volume of whole blood that is composed of red blood cells as determined by separation of red blood cells from the plasma usually by centrifugation <a hematocrit ranging from 42% to 52% in males and 35% to 47% in females is typically considered normal>—called also packed cell volume

Variants of HEMATOCRIT

he·mat·o·crit or chiefly British hae·ma·to·crit \hi-ˈmat-ə-krət, -ˌkrit\ (audio pronunciation)