blood disorders
Laboratory Tests for Blood Disorders
Reticulocyte count
The reticulocyte count measures the number of newly formed (young) red blood cells (reticulocytes) in a specified volume of blood. Reticulocytes normally make up about 0.5 to 2.5% of the total number of red blood cells. When the body needs more red blood cells, as after blood loss, the bone marrow normally responds by producing more reticulocytes. Thus, the reticulocyte count is a measure of the capacity of the bone marrow to make new red blood cells. 