Lab investigation of FBC

Question 1

What do all blood test tubes come with?

Answer 1

All tubes come with different colour tops

Question 2

What does the purple tube contain and do?

Answer 2

Purple: contains EDTA

• Stops blood clotting
• Keeps cells separate
• Used for FBC

Question 3

What does the rust/yellow tube have and what’s it used for?

Answer 3

Rust/yellow: has gel at the bottom (clotted sample)

-Used for electrolytes, renal function

Question 4

What does the turquoise tube contain and what does it do?

Answer 4

Turquoise: contains citrate

• Anticoagulant so cells do not coagaulate
• This tube has a line on it which indicates how much blood is needed for the test to work
• Used for clotting

Question 5

What does the pink tube contain and whats it used for?

Answer 5

Pink: contains EDTA

-Used for transfusion and crossmatch

Question 6

What are the RBC results in FBC?

Answer 6

• Hb: concentration of
• Haemoglobin
• HCT (Haematocrit): Percentage of blood volume as RBC
• MCV (Mean Cell Volume): Average size of RBC
• MCH (Mean Cell Hb): Average haemoglobin content of RBC
• RDW: Range of deviation around RBC size
• -If RBCs are monomorphic (each RBC is same shape/size) RDW will be small
• Reticulocyte count
• Blood film
• -Confirms numbers
• -Morphology – are the cells normal?
• -Are cells present that shouldn’t be?

Question 7

What are the WBC results in FBC?

Answer 7

• Total WBC and differential
• Neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes,
• basophils, eosinophils

Question 8

What are the platelet results in FBC?

Answer 8

Platelet count and size