A red cell distribution width (RDW) test is a measurement of the range in the volume and size of your red blood cells (erythrocytes). Red blood cells move oxygen from your lungs to every cell in your body. Your cells need oxygen to grow, reproduce, and stay healthy. The RDW-CV is a calculation based on both the width of the distribution curve and the mean cell size. It is calculated by dividing the standard deviation of the mean cell size by the MCV of the red cells and multiplying by 100 to convert to a percentage.
Normal reference range of RDW-CV in human red blood cells is 11.5–15.4%. If anemia is observed, RDW test results are often used together with mean corpuscular volume (MCV) results to determine the possible causes of the anemia.
A low RDW means your red blood cells are all about the same size. A high RDW means you have both very small and very large red blood cells.