Relationships of mean corpuscular volume with diameter and surface area of canine erythrocytes

Assessment of erythrocyte morphology is an important aid in diagnostic haematology. Anisocytosis which is changes in RBC size, correspond to changes in diameter and surface area (SA) of the cell, and are not always reflected in the Mean Corpuscular volume (MCV). This paper discusses the relationship of MCV with surface area and diameters (vertical and horizontal) in 2D views of erythrocytes of clinically healthy dogs using confocal microscopy. This information would be valuable for early detection of cellular changes in dogs in subclinical or clinical diseases. The average diameters, average SA, and MCV values of RBCs studied were in normal distribution and the mean values of 7.169 ± 0.648 μm for horizontal diameter (D1), 7.1245 ± 0.6646 μm for vertical diameter (D2), and 41.061 μm2 ± 6.866 for SA did not reveal a significant correlation or a strength of association with the MCV values, indicating that the MCV value has limitations as an objective measurement of detecting anisocytosis.