Basic Hematology Techniques Flashcards
Why is blood mixing important? When is it important?
- performed because cells settle
- important before any analysis
How is blood mixing accomplished?
1) manually by gentle inversion
2) using a tilting rack
What is packed cell volume (PCV)? When is it measured?
% erythrocytes in whole blood
- measured after centrifugation (for maximal packing on RBCs)
What does it mean is plasma is red after a PCV?
Severely hemolyzed
What does it mean is plasma is pink after a PCV?
mildly hemolyzed
What does it mean is plasma is yellow after a PCV?
Icteric in dog, cat.
Normal in horse, cow.
What does it mean is plasma is white after a PCV?
lipemic
What is the layer of WBCs called?
Buffy coat
What do refractometers do?
ESTIMATE the concentration of solute in fluid by measuring refraction of light as it passes through solute.
- measured relative to distilled water
What is refractometry used for?
estimate plasma protein concentration
estimate urine specific gravity
Why is protein concentration an estimate?
assumes other solutes in the serum are present in normal concentrations
What are solutes that will interfere with protein concentration during refractometry? (Increase Total protein)
- lipemia: chylomicrons, lipds
- urea
- glucose
- cholesterol
What does it indicate if the PCV and TP are proportionally increased?
patient is dehydrated
What does it mean if the PCV and TP are proportionally decreased?
patient has blood loss
What are two major constituents of the “total protein”?
albumin (ALB), and Globulin (GLOB)
