What is "haematocrit"

n. (label en British spelling physiology) (alternative spelling of hematocrit English)

1. n. the ratio of the volume occupied by packed red blood cells to the volume of the whole blood as measured by a hematocrit [syn: hematocrit, packed cell volume]

2. a measuring instrument to determine (usually by centrifugation) the relative amounts of corpuscles and plasma in the blood [syn: hematocrit]