Diagnostic Role Of The Blood Film

Question 1

How do you set up a microscope correctly?

Answer 1

Start with the low power objective lense
1. Focus the image- use coarse and fine knob
2. Focus the condenser- close the field iris and adjust the condenser focus knob until you get a sharp image of edge of disk of light
3. Adjust field iris- open field iris and stop when whole field is only just in view
4. Adjust condenser iris- start with condenser iris fully open and close until it only just begins to darken image
examine specimen using stage controls, use voltage control to adjust brightness
When changing magnification repeat the set up

Question 2

How do you prepare a blood film?

Answer 2

Mix the blood sample
Push sample dispenser into lid of sample- single drop can be put onto slide
Put drop on slide and use another slide to spread the drop
Label the slide- no. from the sample and name of patient

Unless there’s anticoagulants in sample work quickly so it doesn’t clot

Question 3

How do you stain a blood film?

Answer 3

Use Leishman’s stain- has a purple/blue dye which stains nuclei and a pink dye which stains components in the cytoplasm
Red cells look red
White cells look blue

Question 4

What are the steps of the blood film protocol?

Answer 4

1. Place first slid in a rack over a draining dish
2. Add 8 drops of Leishman’s stain using a dropper bottle so that film’s completely covered
3. Leave slide for a min to stain
4. Add 8 drops of buffer pH (6.8) onto slide and it should be gently rocked so buffer and stain mix- leave for 7 mins
5. Pour stain off and rinse slide with lots of buffer
6. Dry slide by taping it to filer paper and wave in air
7. Once dry examine with microscope