Platelet count and platelet size in males and females.

The platelet count of healthy males was compared to that of healthy females. A higher platelet count in women was confirmed. A similar inverse non-linear relationship between the platelet count and the mean platelet volume (MPV) was found in the two sexes. The slightly higher MPV in men was insufficient to compensate for the lower platelet count so that the plateletcrit, which measures total volume of platelets in a given volume of blood, was also significantly higher in women.