Hct, Pcv, Blood Smear Review Flashcards
Normal pcv for dogs?
37-55%
Normal pcv of cats?
35-45%
What is the white called between the rbcs and plasma of hematocrit tubes?
Buffy coat
What do you use the refractometer to find out?
Total protein
What is the of unit of total protein?
g/100ml
Normal plasma total protein of dogs and cats?
6.0-7.5 g/dL
What do you do before using a refractometer?
Calibrate with distiller water
What is normal plasma color?
Straw yellow
What does white plasma mean?
Lipemic-lipids in blood.
What does yellow plasma mean?
Icteric-liver is having problems
What does red/pink plasma mean?
Hemolysis- ruptured rbcs, heat, freezing, small gauge needle
What do we look for in blood smears?
Confirm cell numbers, differential count, cell morphology, blood borne parasites
Best tube to do a blood smear with?
EDTA, purple top
Why do we use purple tops for blood smears? (Cbc)
Preserves blood morphology best
Steps of blood smears?
Clean, dry slide, mix sample well, put a small drop on the slide, hold the spreader at 40 degrees, back the spreader into the drop, push the spreader forward, smooth feathered edge
Why do we not apply pressure during blood smears?
May rupture/squish cells
What should the smear look like?
A thumb with a feathered edge
What happens if you increase the angle of the blood smear pusher?
It will be a thicker smear
What happens if you decrease the angle of the blood smear pusher?
Make a thinner smear
What are the here distinct areas of a blood smear?
Thick blood cell area, red cell area, feathered edge
What do we use the thick blood cell area for?
Nothing really
What do we use the red cell area of a smear for?
To view morphology, differential- they’re spaced out well
What do we use the feathered edge of a smear for?
To check for clumped platelets and heartworm microfilariae
If the smear is too short and thick?…
Make the drop smaller and decrease spreader angle
If the blood smear is too thin…?
Increase blood drop, increase angle of spreader and apply less pressure
Steps to dying blood smear?
Let air dry!, stain (fixative-blue), eosin stain (red), methylene blue (dark blue), rinse with water, air dry
How long do we have to make a slide and then to stain?
3 hours after collecting, one hour after slide is made
What is the best way to scan a smear?
Zig zag pattern
What you see when you look into the microscope?
Field of view
What are we looking for with red blood cell morphology?
Shape and size normal?
What are we looking for with white blood cell morphology?
Neutrophils mature? Lymphocytes normal? Wbc inclusions?
What are we looking for for platelet morphology?
Normal numbers? Normal size?
The percentage of whole blood that Is composed of red blood cells.
Hematocrit, packed blood cell volume
What do total proteins tell us?
Amount of proteins in the blood- especially proteins regarding liver
If we have an anemic patient, what happens to our pcv?
Lower packed cell volume
If our patient is dehydrated,what happens to our pcv?
Increased
If our patient is dehydrated, what will happen to our total protein?
Increase, it’s not spread out
Here parts of a blood slide?
Thick body area, red cell rainbow counting area, feathered edge
