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Blood count
Thefullbloodcount(FBC)isacommontestthatcanhelptodiagnoseawiderangeofillnesses, infectionsanddiseases.Thedoctortakesabloodsample,usinganeedleinsertedintoaveininthe handorcrookoftheelbow.Thebloodsampleiscollectedinsideaspecialvialthatcontainsa chemicaltopreventthebloodfromclotting.Thesampleissenttoalaboratoryandputintoa machineforanalysis. TheFBCtestlooksforabnormalitiesintheblood,suchasunusuallyhighorlownumbersofblood cells.Ifanabnormalityisfound,thedoctorwillusuallyarrangefurtherdiagnosticteststo determinetheunderlyingcauseoftheabnormality.
Test procedure
Inmostcases,nospecialpreparationisneededbeforethetest.Theprocedurenormallytakes placelikethis: Atthesurgery,youareaskedtositorliedown. Yourarmisbandedwithatourniquettoincreasebloodvolumeintheveins.Thedoctor, nurseortechnicianmayaskyoutoclenchandunclenchyourfisttohelpswellyourveins withblood. Theinjectionsiteiswipedwithanalcoholpreparationtoreducetheriskofinfection. Thedoctorinsertstheneedleintoaveinanddrawstheblood.Thebloodmaybecollected insideasyringeorvial.Somepatientsexperiencediscomfortduringthisprocedurebutthis isusuallyminimal. Oncethebloodsamplehasbeentaken,thedoctorasksyoutopressgauzeorcottonwool againsttheinjectionsitetominimisebleeding.Theinjectionsiteiscoveredwithan adhesivedressing.Youmayhaveminorbruisingattheinjectionsiteforadayortwo.
Blood explained
Themaincomponentofblood(60%)istheliquidcalledplasma.Bloodcellsaccountfortheother 40percent.Thebloodcellsinclude: Red blood cellsknownaserythrocytes.Everyredbloodcellcontainshaemoglobin,a complicatedproteinthatcarriesoxygen.Haemoglobincontainsiron,whichisimportantto carryoxygenaroundthebody. White blood cellsknowncollectivelyasleukocytes.Thesearecellsoftheimmune systemthatfightinfection.Thedifferenttypesofwhitebloodcellsincludelymphocytes, eosinophils,monocytes,neutrophilsandbasophils. Plateletsthesehelptoclotthebloodtostopbleeding.
Blood assessment
Thefullbloodcounttest: Countsthetotalnumberofredcells,whitecellsandplateletsinthesample Determinestheratioofredcellstotheplasma(haematocritorpackedcellvolume) Determinesthecountofeachofthewhitecellsub-sets Calculatesthemeanhaemoglobinlevelintheredcells(meancellhaemoglobin) Measuresthemeansizeoftheredcells(meancellvolume) Checksthesizeandshapeofthebloodcells(bloodsmear).
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Yourdoctormayarrangefurtherteststohelpdeterminethecauseoftheabnormality.Askyour doctorforfurtherinformationaboutthesetests.
Blood smear
Abloodsmearmeansthatathinfilmofyourbloodsampleisexaminedunderamicroscope.A bloodsmearcanreveal: Abnormalsizeorshapeofcells,whichmaysuggestadiseasesuchassicklecellanaemia Thepresenceofblood-borneparasitessuchasmalaria.
Things to remember
This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:
AustralianCentreforBloodDiseases
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Contentonthiswebsiteisprovidedforeducationandinformationpurposesonly.Information aboutatherapy,service,productortreatmentdoesnotimplyendorsementandisnotintendedto replaceadvicefromyourdoctororotherregisteredhealthprofessional.Contenthasbeen preparedforVictorianresidentsandwiderAustralianaudiences,andwasaccurateatthetimeof publication.Readersshouldnotethat,overtime,currencyandcompletenessoftheinformation maychange.Allusersareurgedtoalwaysseekadvicefromaregisteredhealthcareprofessional fordiagnosisandanswerstotheirmedicalquestions. Forthelatestupdatesandmoreinformation,visitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au Copyight 1999/2011StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)atnocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth. Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthecopyrightareprohibitedwithout permission.
Bloodcount
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