Lab

RDW medical abbreviation

RDW means "red cell distribution width".

Each meaning matched at least two public references (2 in all for RDW), checked October 23, 2026. The table lists them.

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What RDW means

MeaningLatin originWhere usedChecked against
red cell distribution widthNoneLab orders, Charting

Example

Sample lab panel row: "RDW."

A made-up line that shows the abbreviation in place. It is not about any patient and is not an instruction.

Related abbreviations

  • MCVmean corpuscular volume
  • MCHmean corpuscular hemoglobin
  • MCHCmean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration
  • CBCcomplete blood count
  • RBCred blood cell
  • A1Chemoglobin A1c

Elsewhere on Rivvi

Questions

What does RDW mean in medical terms?

RDW means "red cell distribution width".

Where is RDW used?

RDW shows up in lab orders and charting. Its category here is lab.

Is RDW on the Joint Commission Do Not Use list?

No. RDW is not on the Joint Commission Do Not Use list or the ISMP error-prone list as checked on October 23, 2026.

Source: NCI Thesaurus, including CDISC SDTM terminology (NCI EVS); NLM SPECIALIST Lexicon abbreviations file (LRABR). Data as of October 23, 2026. Last updated October 23, 2026. How we source data. Spotted an error? Send a correction.

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