THE way in which blood constituents are measured is, at first glance, confusing!
The number of red and white blood cells is typically reported as “how many cells per volume of blood”, the metric system being standard, with decilitre (1/10 of a litre), millilitre (1/1,000), and microlitre (1/1,000,000) used. The other (solid) components of blood are reported in “weight quantity per volume of blood”, the weight measured in grams, milligrams (1/1,000 of a gram), and micrograms (1/1,000,000).
Finally, there are the components of blood called enzymes – a biological catalyst (almost always a protein) that speeds up the rate of a specific chemical reaction in the cell. Enzymes are measured by their “level of activity per volume of blood” and are typically reported as “IU” (international units).…
