Practical Lab Flashcards
what is the red blood tube?
serum/”plain” tube
whicg colour is the serum/”plain” tube?
red
what is a serum tube used for?
biochemistry
hormonal assays (e.g. T4)
serology (e.g. antibodies)
what colour is a heparin tube?
orange
OR big with green lid
what is the orange (/big green) tube?
heparin
what is heparin?
anti-coagulant
which is better to use in an emergency, serum or heparin?
heparin - can run quickly
what is the pink (/big purple) tube?
EDTA
what is a heparin tube used for?
in-house biochemistry
which colour tube should be used for haematology?
pink (/big purple)
what is the lilac tube?
citrate
which colour tube contains citrate?
lilac
what is a citrate tube used for?
coagulation profiles
what is the yellow (/big grey) tube?
oxalate
what colour are oxalate tubes?
yellow (/big grey)
what is oxalate used for?
glucose
are oxalate tubes used regularly?
rarely used - glucose measured in biochemistry (heparin)
which type of blood tube doesn’t contain clotting factors?
serum tubes
why do all the blood tubes (minus serum) obtain plasma, rather than serum?
contain an anticoagulant
what is the difference between serum and plasma?
serum is the liquid that remains after clotting of blood
plasma is the liquid that remains when anticoagulant is added to prevent clotting
which blood tube should always be filled last?
EDTA
why should EDTA always be filled last?
contamination with EDTA in other samples will prevent clotting - EDTA chelates calcium
how does EDTA contamination affect biochemistry?
low calcium
high potassium
what does a reference range mean?
includes 95% of healthy animals