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Blood tests are laboratory tests done on blood to gain an appreciation of disease states and the function of organs. Since blood flows throughout the body, providing oxygen and other nutrients, and drawing waste products back to the excretory systems for disposal, the state of the bloodstream affects, or is affected by, many medical conditions. For these reasons, blood tests are the most commonly performed medical tests.Blood is useful as it is a relatively non-invasive way to obtain cells, and extracellular fluid ( plasma), from the body to check on its health. Although the term blood test is used, most routine tests (except for most haematology) are done on plasma or serum.
1 Chemistry
Specific biochemical blood tests include:
- Electrolytes
- Blood urea nitrogen ("BUN") and renal function ( creatinine is generally used)
- Liver enzymes
- GlucoseGlucose a simple monosaccharide sugar, is one of the most important carbohydrates and is used as a source of energy in animals and plants. Glucose is one of the main products of photosynthesis and starts respiration. The natural form (D-glucose) is also r and oral glucose tolerance testOral glucose tolerance test (OGTT is a medical test that is performed to diagnose (or exclude) diabetes. The test consists of taking several blood samples — before and after a glucose load (ie. ingesting glucose, a type of sugar). It is, in non-pregnant s (which involves a series of blood tests)
- Protein electrophoresisPlease see the main article gel electrophoresis for an introduction on the principles of electrophoresis''. In chemistry and medicine, protein electrophoresis is a method of analysing a mixture of proteins by means of gel electrophoresis, mainly in blood
- Chem7 test - a battery of blood chemistry tests; the seven parts of a Chem7; sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and glucose
2 Hematology
Hematological tests are:
- Full blood countA full blood count FBC or complete blood count CBC is a test requested by a doctor or other medical professional that gives information about the cells in a patient's blood. Automated blood count Blood for a FBC is usually taken into an EDTA tube to stop (or "complete blood count")
- Haematocrit and MCVThe mean corpuscular volume or MCV is a measure of the average red blood cell volume that is reported as part of a standard complete blood count. In patients with anemia, it is the MCV measurement that allows classification as either a microcytic anemia ( ("mean corpuscular volume")
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rateThe erythrocyte sedimentation rate ESR , also called a sedimentation rate sed rate or Biernacki Reaction is a non-specific measure of inflammation that is commonly used as a medical screening test. To perform the test, anticoagulated blood is placed in an (ESR)
- Determination of blood type for blood transfusion.
3 Techniques
General biochemical techniques often used in blood testing include:
DNA testing is today possible with even very small quantities of blood: this is commonly used in forensic science, but is now also part of the diagnostic process of many disorders.
