Blood test

WikiDoc Resources for Blood test

Articles

Most recent articles on Blood test

Most cited articles on Blood test

Review articles on Blood test

Articles on Blood test in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ

Media

Powerpoint slides on Blood test

Images of Blood test

Photos of Blood test

Podcasts & MP3s on Blood test

Videos on Blood test

Evidence Based Medicine

Cochrane Collaboration on Blood test

Bandolier on Blood test

TRIP on Blood test

Clinical Trials

Ongoing Trials on Blood test at Clinical Trials.gov

Trial results on Blood test

Clinical Trials on Blood test at Google

Guidelines / Policies / Govt

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Blood test

NICE Guidance on Blood test

NHS PRODIGY Guidance

FDA on Blood test

CDC on Blood test

Books

Books on Blood test

News

Blood test in the news

Be alerted to news on Blood test

News trends on Blood test

Commentary

Blogs on Blood test

Definitions

Definitions of Blood test

Patient Resources / Community

Patient resources on Blood test

Discussion groups on Blood test

Patient Handouts on Blood test

Directions to Hospitals Treating Blood test

Risk calculators and risk factors for Blood test

Healthcare Provider Resources

Symptoms of Blood test

Causes & Risk Factors for Blood test

Diagnostic studies for Blood test

Treatment of Blood test

Continuing Medical Education (CME)

CME Programs on Blood test

International

Blood test en Espanol

Blood test en Francais

Business

Blood test in the Marketplace

Patents on Blood test

Experimental / Informatics

List of terms related to Blood test

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 Blood chemistry tests
* 3 Large organic molecules
* 3.1 Proteins
* 3.2 Antibody Proteins
* 3.3 Other
* 4 Cells
* 5 External links
* 6 See also

## Overview

[edit | edit source]

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, acting as a medium for 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 obtained from one of the patient's veins by venipuncture or fingerprick, except for tests such as Arterial blood gas.

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.

The list below includes both specific tests, and general techniques.

## Blood chemistry tests

[edit | edit source]

A basic metabolic panel measures sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), magnesium, creatinine, and glucose. It also sometimes includes calcium.

While the regular glucose test is taken at a certain point in time, the glucose tolerance test involves repeated testing to determine the rate at which glucose is processed by the body.

While the above tests are all taken from venous blood, by contrast the arterial blood gas test is, as its name would suggest, taken from arterial blood, and is therefore more dangerous and uncomfortable.

## Large organic molecules

[edit | edit source]

### Proteins

[edit | edit source]

* Protein electrophoresis (general technique -- not a specific test)
* Western blot (general technique -- not a specific test)
* Liver function tests

### Antibody Proteins

[edit | edit source]

* Serology (general technique -- not a specific test)
* Wassermann test (for syphilis)
* ELISA test
* Coombs test

### Other

[edit | edit source]

* Polymerase chain reaction (DNA). 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.
* Northern blot (RNA)

## Cells

[edit | edit source]

* Full blood count (or "complete blood count")
* Hematocrit and MCV ("mean corpuscular volume")
* Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
* Cross-matching. Determination of blood type for blood transfusion or transplants
* Blood cultures are commonly taken if infection is suspected. Positive cultures and resulting sensitivity results are often useful in guiding medical treatment.

## External links

[edit | edit source]

* Cold autoantibody webpage on "health a to z"

## See also

[edit | edit source]

* Reference ranges for common blood tests (with a much longer list)
* Urine test
* HIV test (uses several different techniques, including ELISA test and Western blot)
* Blood film
* Hematology
* Microbiology
* Medical technologist

he:בדיקת דם nl:Bloedonderzoek fi:Verikoe

Template:WikiDoc Sources