RBC

Abbreviation with 2 meanings

RBC
Stands forRed blood cell count
Meanings2
CategoriesMedical, Organizations & Companies

RBC has two meanings. It stands for Red blood cell count (laboratory test) or Royal Bank of Canada (company and brand).

Meanings of RBC at a glance

#RBC stands forContext
1Red blood cell countMedical › Laboratory Test
2Royal Bank of CanadaOrganizations & Companies › Company and Brand

1. Red blood cell count

Medical · Laboratory Test Abbreviations

Counts erythrocytes per microliter of blood, typically about 4.7 to 6.1 million in adult men and 4.2 to 5.4 million in adult women. Read together with hemoglobin and hematocrit, a low RBC points to anemia or blood loss, while a high count can reflect dehydration, smoking, high altitude or polycythemia vera.

Example: RBC 3.1, Hgb 8.9 and MCV 72 point toward iron deficiency anemia.

In urinalysis, RBC refers to red cells seen per high-power field (0 to 2 per field is usually normal), so the specimen type tells the urine finding apart from the blood count. Red cells survive about 120 days in circulation and are replaced by reticulocytes from the marrow. The plural is RBCs; some charts write rbc in lowercase.

2. Royal Bank of Canada

Organizations & Companies · Company and Brand Abbreviations

Canada's largest bank by market value, providing personal and commercial banking, wealth management, insurance and capital markets services. Its head office is in Montreal, with executive offices in Toronto.

Example: I use the RBC app to deposit cheques.

Founded in 1864 in Halifax as the Merchants Bank of Halifax; it became the Royal Bank of Canada in 1901. RBC bought HSBC's Canadian operations in 2024. Its US wealth business includes RBC Wealth Management and City National Bank.

More laboratory test abbreviations

  • PT/INR – Prothrombin time with international normalized ratio
  • PTT – Partial thromboplastin time
  • QNS – Quantity not sufficient
  • RADT – Rapid antigen detection test
  • RDW – Red cell distribution width
  • Retic – Reticulocyte count
  • RF – Rheumatoid factor
  • RFP – Renal function panel

See all 135 laboratory test abbreviations →

More company and brand abbreviations

  • NEC – Nippon Electric Company
  • P&G – Procter & Gamble
  • PwC – PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • QVC – Quality, Value, Convenience
  • RBS – Royal Bank of Scotland
  • RCA – Radio Corporation of America
  • REI – Recreational Equipment, Inc.
  • SAAB – Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget

See all 116 company and brand abbreviations →

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.