MCV

volume

[vol´ūm] the space occupied by a substance or a three-dimensional region; the capacity of such a region or of a container.blood volume the volume" >plasma volume added to the volume" >red cell volume; see also blood volume.closing volume (CV) the volume of gas in the lungs in excess of the volume" >residual volume at the time small airways in the dependent portions close during maximal exhalation; see also closing volume.deficient fluid volume a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as decreased intravascular, interstitial, and/or intracellular fluid. This refers to dehydration, water loss alone without change in sodium. See also volume" >fluid volume. Formerly called fluid volume deficit.

When a person engages in normal physical activity and the environmental temperature is 20°C (68°F), the body loses about 2400 ml of water in 24 hours. About 1400 ml are lost in urine, 200 ml in feces, and 100 ml in sweat. The remaining 700 ml are lost through what is called insensible water loss, which takes place by diffusion through the skin and by evaporation from the lungs. About 300 ml of water diffuse through the epithelial cells daily. The lungs excrete about 400 ml per day.
A deficit of fluid volume occurs when there is either an excessive loss of body water or an inadequate compensatory intake. Etiologic factors include active loss through vomiting, diarrhea, gastric suctioning, drainage through operative wounds and tubes, burns, fistulas, hypermetabolic states, and drug-induced diuresis. Insufficient intake of water can be caused by nausea, immobility with inaccessibility of water, and lack of knowledge about the necessity of adequate fluid intake.Patient Care. Assessment of the patient's hydration status includes monitoring lab data for such signs as increased packed red blood cell volume, increased plasma protein level, elevated specific gravity of urine, and increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) out of proportion to a change in serum creatinine. In the absence of other problems, the serum sodium should remain within normal limits.

Recording daily weight gives information about the amount of water gained or lost each day. If there is a fluid volume deficit, intake and output measurements can give evidence of fluid imbalance. The urine appears concentrated and is usually well below the criterion of 50 ml of output per hour. Other objective assessment data include hypotension and a decrease in venous filling and in pulse volume and pressure. The mucous membranes are dry, as is the skin, which loses its turgor. The patient may complain of thirst and the body temperature may be elevated.
Patients at risk for profound and potentially fatal fluid volume deficit, as in severe burns, should be assessed frequently for mental acuity status and orientation to person, place, and time. Measures to improve hydration status should take into account the patient's ability to drink and retain fluids by mouth, preferences for certain fluids, and whether hot or cold drinks are preferred. The goal of oral fluid intake should be about 2000 ml per day. Explanations about the importance of an adequate fluid intake and assuring the availability of fresh water and fluids attractive to the patient can help reach the desired goal. Intravenous administration of fluids, especially isotonic saline, may be necessary if oral replacement is not possible. In severe and intractable fluid volume deficit a central venous catheter may be used to evaluate the extent of fluid loss and to guide replacement therapy.excess fluid volume a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as increased isotonic fluid retention; see also volume" >fluid volume. Factors contributing to this include (1) arterial dilatation, as occurs in the inflammatory process; (2) reduced oncotic pressure, as in hypoproteinuria (particularly a deficit of albumin, which is responsible for 80 per cent of oncotic pressure), lymphatic obstruction, and increased capillary permeability, which allows water to escape into the tissues and produce swelling; (3) renal retention of sodium and consequently of water, as seen in renal failure; (4) inadequate circulation of blood through the general circulation, as in heart failure" >congestive heart failure, or through the portal circulation, as in liver failure; and (5) overproduction or administration of adrenocortical hormones.

Hypervolemia can occur when a patient receives excessive fluid replacement or repeated tap water enemas or, much less frequently, drinks more fluids than are eliminated. Characteristics of fluid volume excess include obvious swelling, localized or generalized; weight gain; pulmonary congestion with accompanying shortness of breath, orthopnea, and abnormal breath sounds; a fluid intake greater than output; distended neck veins; and changes in central venous and pulmonary artery pressures.expiratory reserve volume the maximal amount of gas that can be exhaled from the resting end-expiratory level.fluid volume the volume of the body fluids, including both intracellular fluid and extracellular fluid.forced expiratory volume (FEV) the volume that can be exhaled from a full inhalation by exhaling as forcefully and rapidly as possible for a timed period. Times are denoted by subscripts, such as FEV_0.5, FEV_1.0, FEV_2.0, and FEV_3.0 for FEV values for 0.5, 1, 2, and 3 seconds.inspiratory reserve volume the maximal amount of gas that can be inhaled from the end-inspiratory position.mean corpuscular volume (MCV) the average volume of erythrocytes, conventionally expressed in cubic micrometers or femtoliters (μm³ = fL) per red cell, obtained by multiplying the hematocrit (in l/L) by 1000 and dividing by the red cell count (in millions per μL): MCV = Hct/RBC. Automated electronic blood cell counters generally obtain the MCV directly from the average pulse height of the voltage pulses produced during the red cell count. These instruments obtain the hematocrit indirectly from the equation Hct = MCV × RBC.minute volume (MV) the quantity of gas exhaled from the lungs per minute; volume" >tidal volume multiplied by rate" >respiration rate.packed-cell volume (PCV) hematocrit.plasma volume the total volume of blood plasma, i.e., the extracellular fluid volume of the vascular space; see also blood volume" >blood volume.red cell volume the total volume of red cells in the body; see also blood volume." >blood volume.residual volume (RV) the amount of gas remaining in the lung at the end of a maximal exhalation.risk for deficient fluid volume a nursing diagnosis accepted by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, defined as being at risk for vascular, cellular, or intracellular dehydration. See also volume" >deficient fluid volume.stroke volume the quantity of blood ejected from a ventricle at each beat of the heart; called also stroke output.tidal volume the amount of gas passing into and out of the lungs in each respiratory cycle.

MCV

Abbreviation for mean corpuscular volume.

mcV

Symbol for microvolt.

red cell indices

A group of values obtained from automated blood cell counters that provide information about size–ie, volume and concentration of Hb in RBCs; 3 abbreviations are found on the printouts of CBCs: MCH, MCHC, MCV Red cell indices
MCH Mean corpuscular hemoglobin A measurement of Hb/individual RBC Ref range 26-34 pg/red cell MCHC Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration A value derived on automated–eg Coulter cell counters from measured parameters Ref range 31-36 g/dL MCV Mean corpuscular volumes A calculated value for the average volume of peripheral RBCs Ref range 85-100 fL/cell

MCV

Abbreviation for mean corpuscular volume.

mcV

Abbreviation for microvolt.

Mean corpuscular volume (MCV)

A measure of the average volume of a red blood cell.Mentioned in: Red Blood Cell Indices

MCV

Abbreviation for mean corpuscular volume.