WHAT IS BLOOD TESTING ? A to Z of BLOOD TESTING : PART - ONE ( Source - Wikipedia )

    

What  is      Blood test  and A  to  Z of blood testing

From Wikipedia

by Jonathan Kellerman,

A blood test is a laboratory analysis performed on a blood sample that is usually extracted from a vein in the arm using a needle, or viafingerprick. Multiple tests for specific blood components (such as a glucose test or a cholesterol test) are often grouped together into onetest panel called a blood panel or blood work. Blood tests^[1] are often used in health care to determine physiological and biochemicalstates, such as disease, mineral content, pharmaceutical drug effectiveness, and organ function. Typical clinical blood panels include abasic metabolic panel or a complete blood count. Blood tests are also used in drug tests to detect drug abuse. In some of the United States a blood test is required before marriage historically this was true in more states

   

Types of blood tests

Samples of human blood collected for testing. The barcodes contain information that is used to identify the individual from whom the sample was taken and the blood test requested

.

Biochemical analysis

A basic metabolic panel measures sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), magnesium, creatinine,glucose, and sometimes includes calcium. Blood tests focusing on cholesterol levels can determine LDL and HDL cholesterol levels, as well as triglyceride levels.^[7]

Some blood tests, such as those that measure glucose or a lipid profile, require fasting (or no food consumption) eight to twelve hours prior to the drawing of the blood sample.^[8]

For the majority of blood tests, blood is usually obtained from the patient's vein. However, other specialized blood tests, such as thearterial blood gas, require blood extracted from an artery. Blood gas analysis of arterial blood is primarily used to monitor carbon dioxideand oxygen levels related to pulmonary function, but it is also used to measure blood pH and bicarbonate levels for certain metabolic conditions.^[9]

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.^[10]

Normal ranges  of  blood  test ;-

Blood tests results should always be interpreted using the ranges provided by the laboratory that performed the test. Example ranges are shown below

:

Test[11][12]	Low	High	Unit	Comments
Sodium (Na)	136	145	mmol/L
Potassium (K)	3.5	5.0	mmol/L
Urea	2.5	6.4	mmol/L	BUN - blood urea nitrogen
Urea	15	40	mg/dL
Creatinine - male	62	115	μmol/L
Creatinine - female	53	97	μmol/L
Creatinine - male	0.7	1.3	mg/dL
Creatinine - female	0.6	1.2	mg/dL
Glucose (fasting)	3.9	5.8	mmol/L	See also glycated hemoglobin
Glucose (fasting)	70	120	mg/dL

  Biomarker (medicine)

From Wikipedia,

.

In medicine, a biomarker is a measurable indicator of the severity or presence of some disease state. More generally a biomarker is anything that can be used as an indicator of a particular disease state or some other physiological state of an organism.

A biomarker can be a substance that is introduced into an organism as a means to examine organ function or other aspects of health. For example, rubidium chloride is used inisotopic labeling to evaluate perfusion of heart muscle. It can also be a substance whose detection indicates a particular disease state, for example, the presence of an antibodymay indicate an infection. More specifically, a biomarker indicates a change in expression or state of a protein that correlates with the risk or progression of a disease, or with the susceptibility of the disease to a given treatment. Biomarkers can be characteristic biological properties or molecules that can be detected and measured in parts of the body like the blood or tissue. They may indicate either normal or diseased processes in the body.^[1] Biomarkers can be specific cells, molecules, or genes, gene products, enzymes, or hormones. Complex organ functions or general characteristic changes in biological structures can also serve as biomarkers. Although the term biomarker is relatively new, biomarkers have been used in pre-clinical research and clinical diagnosis for a considerable time.^[2] For example, body temperature is a well-known biomarker for fever. Blood pressure is used to determine the risk of stroke. It is also widely known that cholesterol values are a biomarker and risk indicator for coronary and vascular disease, and that C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker for inflammation.

Biomarkers are useful in a number of ways, including measuring the progress of disease, evaluating the most effective therapeutic regimes for a particular cancer type, and establishing long-term susceptibility to cancer or its recurrence.^[3] The parameter can be chemical, physical or biological. In molecular terms biomarker is "the subset of markers that might be discovered using genomics, proteomics technologies or imaging technologies. Biomarkers play major roles in medicinal biology. Biomarkers help in early diagnosis, disease prevention, drug target identification, drug response etc. Several biomarkers have been identified for many diseases such as serum LDL for cholesterol,blood pressure, and P53 gene^[4] and MMPs ^[5] as tumor markers for cancer.

Blood film

From Wikipedia,

A blood film or peripheral blood smear is a thin layer of blood smeared on a microscope slide and then stained in such a way to allow the various blood cells to be examined microscopically. Blood films are usually examined to investigate hematologicalproblems (disorders of the blood) and, occasionally, to look for parasites within the blood such as malaria and filaria.

        Blood lead level

From Wikipedia,

·                                 Blood lead level (BLL), is a measure of lead in the blood. It is measured in micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood (μg/dL); 10 µg/dL is equivalent to 0.48 micromoles per liter (µmol/L).^[1]

Sources

 

Exposure to lead occurs through ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact. When exposed to lead, lead enters one’s bloodstream and elevates their blood lead level that results to lead poisoning or an elevated blood lead level.^[2] A major source of exposure to lead comes from inhalation. Factories and industries, vehicles exhausts, and even dust in the air that people breathe all have the potential of containing lead. Other major sources of lead exposure also include ingestion and contact with products such as paint and soil that may contain lead as well. Many older claw foot bathtubs have also been found to leach lead, especially when filled with warm bath water.^[3]

     Hematology, also spelled haematology (from the Greek αἷμα, haima "blood" and -λoγία), is the branch of medicine concerned with the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to the blood. Hematology includes the study of etiology. ^[1] It involves treating diseases that affect the production of blood and its components, such as blood cells, hemoglobin, blood proteins, and the mechanism of coagulation. The laboratory work that goes into the study of blood is frequently performed by a medical technologist. Hematologists also conduct studies in oncology—the medical treatment of cancer.

Physicians specialized in hematology are known as hematologists or haematologists. Their routine work mainly includes the care and treatment of patients with hematological diseases, although some may also work at the hematology laboratory viewing blood films and bone marrow slides under the microscope, interpreting various hematological test results and blood clotting test results. In some institutions, hematologists also manage the hematology laboratory. Physicians who work in hematology laboratories, and most commonly manage them, are pathologists specialized in the diagnosis of hematological diseases, referred to ashematopathologists or haematopathologists. Hematologists and hematopathologists generally work in conjunction to formulate a diagnosis and deliver the most appropriate therapy if needed. Hematology is a distinct subspecialty of internal medicine, separate from but overlapping with the subspecialty of medical oncology.^[2] Hematologists may specialize further or have special interests, for example, in:

·                    treating bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

·                    treating hematological malignacies such as lymphoma and leukemia

·                    treating hemoglobinopathies

·                    in the science of blood transfusion and the work of a blood bank

·                    in bone marrow and stem cell transplantation

   

Lipid profile

From Wikipedia,

Lipid profile
Diagnostics
MedlinePlus	003491
LOINC	24331-1, 57698-3

Lipid profile or lipid panel is a panel of blood tests that serves as an initial broad medical screening tool for abnormalities in lipids, such as cholesterol and triglycerides. The results of this test can identify certain genetic diseases and can determine approximate risks for cardiovascular disease, certain forms of pancreatitis, and other diseases.

Lipid panels are commonly ordered as part of a physical exam, along with other panels such as the complete blood count (CBC) and basic metabolic panel (BMP).

Components

 

The lipid profile typically includes:

·                    Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)

·                    High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

·                    Triglycerides

·                    Total cholesterol

Using these values, a laboratory may also calculate:

·                    Very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL)

Cholesterol: Luminol

From Wikipedia,

Luminol (C₈H₇N₃O₂) is a versatile chemical that exhibits chemiluminescence, with a striking blue glow, when mixed with an appropriate oxidizing agent. Luminol is a white-to-pale-yellow crystalline solid that is soluble in most polar organic solvents but is insoluble in water.

Luminol is used by forensic investigators to detect trace amounts of blood left at crime scenes, as it reacts with iron found in hemoglobin. It is used by biologists in cellular assays for the detection of copper, iron, and cyanides, as well as of specific proteins by western blot.

Luminol can be sprayed evenly across the area, and trace amounts of an activating oxidant will cause the luminol to emit a blue glow that can be seen in a darkened room. The glow lasts for about 30 seconds, but the effect can be documented by a long-exposure photograph. It is important that the spraying be evenly applied to avoid a biased impression, such as blood traces appearing to be more concentrated in areas that received more spray. The intensity of the glow does not indicate the original amount present but indicates only the distribution of trace amounts of substances left in the area.

       

Sorted by category[edit]

Ions and trace metals[edit]

Further information: Trace metals

Included here are also related binding proteins, like ferritin and transferrin for iron, and ceruloplasmin for copper.

Test	Lower limit	Upper limit	Unit	Comments
Sodium (Na)	135,[9] 137[4][10]	145,[4][10] 147[9]	mmol/L or mEq/L[9]
	310,[11] 320[11]	330,[11] 340[11]	mg/dl
Potassium (K)	3.5,[4][9] 3.6[10]	5.0,[4][9][10] 5.1	mmol/L or mEq/L[9]	See hypokalemia or hyperkalemia
	14[12]	20[12]	mg/dl
Chloride (Cl)	95,[9] 98,[13] 100[4]	105,[9] 106,[13] 110[4]	mmol/L or mEq/L[9]
	340[14]	370[14]	mg/dl
Ionized calcium (Ca)	1.03,[15] 1.10[4]	1.23,[15] 1.30[4]	mmol/L
	4.1,[16] 4.4[16]	4.9,[16] 5.2[16]	mg/dL
Total calcium (Ca)	2.1,[9][17] 2.2[4]	2.5,[4][17] 2.6,[17] 2.8[9]	mmol/L
	8.4,[9] 8.5[18]	10.2,[9] 10.5[18]	mg/dL
Total serum iron (TSI) - male	65,[19] 76[10]	176,[19] 198[10]	µg/dL
	11.6,[20][21] 13.6[21]	30,[20] 32,[21] 35[21]	μmol/L
Total serum iron (TSI) - female	26,[10] 50[19]	170[10][19]	µg/dL
	4.6,[21] 8.9[20]	30.4[20]	μmol/L
Total serum iron (TSI) - newborns	100[19]	250[19]	µg/dL
	18[21]	45[21]	µmol/L
Total serum iron (TSI) - children	50[19]	120[19]	µg/dL
	9[21]	21[21]	µmol/L
Total iron-binding capacity (TIBC)	240,[19] 262[10]	450,[19] 474[10]	μg/dL
	43,[21] 47[21]	81,[21] 85[21]	µmol/L
Transferrin	190,[22] 194,[4] 204[10]	326,[4] 330,[22] 360[10]	mg/dL
	25[23]	45[23]	μmol/L
Transferrin saturation	20[19]	50[19]	%
Ferritin - Male	12[24]	300[24]	ng/mL
	27[25]	670[25]	pmol/L
Ferritin - Female	12[24]	150[24]	ng/mL
	27[25]	330[25]	pmol/L
Ammonia	10,[26] 20[27]	35,[26] 65[27]	μmol/L
	17,[28] 34[28]	60,[28] 110[28]	μg/dL
Copper (Cu)	70[18]	150[18]	µg/dL
	11[29][30]	24[29]	μmol/L
Ceruloplasmin	15[18]	60[18]	mg/dL
	1[31]	4[31]	μmol/L
Phosphate (HPO42−)	0.8	1.5[32]	mmol/L
Inorganic phosphorus (serum)	1.0[9]	1.5[9]	mmol/L
	3.0[9]	4.5[9]	mg/dL
Zinc (Zn)	60,[33] 72[34]	110,[34] 130[33]	μg/dL
	9.2,[35] 11[4]	17,[4] 20[35]	µmol/L
Magnesium	1.5,[18] 1.7[36]	2.0,[18] 2.3[36]	mEq/L or mg/dL
	0.6,[37] 0.7[4]	0.82,[37] 0.95[4]	mmol/L