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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffA hemoglobin test measures the amount of hemoglobin in your blood.
Hemoglobin is a protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen to your body's organs and tissues and transports carbon dioxide from your organs and tissues back to your lungs.
If a hemoglobin test reveals that your hemoglobin level is lower than normal, it means you have a low red blood cell count (anemia). Anemia can have many different causes, including vitamin deficiencies, bleeding and chronic diseases.
If a hemoglobin test shows a higher than normal level, there are several potential causes, such as the blood disorder polycythemia vera, living in a high altitude, smoking, dehydration, burns and excessive vomiting.
- Hemoglobin. In: Nicoll D, et al. Pocket Guide to Diagnostic Tests. 5th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aID=3136818&searchStr=hemoglobin. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Hemoglobin. Lab Tests Online. http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/hemoglobin/glance.html. Accessed March 4, 2011.
- Laboratory reference values. Hematology group. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; February 2011.
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