Unit 5: Hematological Samples (Cram)

True or false: Tubes with anti–coagulatant in them should always be filled to their labeled capacity

True. If they are filled with only a small amount of blood, the sample will be diluted

Supernatant attained when a blood sample has been mixed with an anticoagulant, then centrifuged

Plasma

Sample in which no anticoagulant has been added, it is allowed to clot

Serum

Which anticoagulant does this tube contain?

EDTA

What does EDTA stand for?

Ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid

Which anticoagulant does this tube contain?

Heparin

Which anticoagulant does this tube contain?

Sodium citrate

Which anticoagulant does this tube contain?

Potassium oxalate

Which anticoagulant does this tube contain?

Serum seperator tube (aka STT tube)

Which colour tube is sterile and empty?

Red top

Which tube is used for coagulant screening and bovine blood?

Sodium citrate (blue top)

Which tube is only used for testing glucose levels in the blood?

Potassium oxalate (grey top)

Which tube is the most common anti–coagulant used? It has the least effect on the morphology of blood cells

EDTA (purple top)

Which tube contains a gelatin–like substance which, when centrifuged, seperates the blood cells from the serum. This makes the serum easy to remove without contamination

Serum separator tube (tiger top)

What other colour can STT tubes be?

Yellow

Which tube contains a natural anticoagulant that is found in the body?

Heparin

Why should heparin tubes not be used on dog and cat blood?

Changes WBC morphology

Storage of blood for longer than ____ hours may result in some changes in the morphology of the cells

2

What is the best method of storing blood if a sample has to be delayed in processing: room temperature, refrigerator, or freezer?

Refrigerator. Excesive time at room temp and freezing both cause cell lysis

When obtaining a serum sample, which tube do you use?

Empty (red top)

What is the range of time it takes for a serum sample to clot at room temperature?

20–30 minutes

Can a serum sample be allowed to clot in the refrigerator?

NO! It can't go in the fridge until it has clotted

What tool do you use to collect serum from a clotted sample in a tube?

Pasteur pipette

Can you freeze serum?

Yes (unlike whole blood which lyses)

Should you use a tube with an anticoagulant to collect a plasma sample?

Yes

At what power and how long should you centrifuge serum and plasma samples?

2000–3000 rmp for 10 minutes

Which day should you not send blood sample out on?

Friday

What are the 9 tests included in a CBC?

1. PCV or HCT (hematocrit)

2. Examination of serum (colour, amount, etc.)

3. Total protein (refractometer)

4. RBC count

5. RBC & platelet morphology

6. RBC indices

7. Reticulocyte count

8. WBC count

9. WBC differential

Which part of a CBC is only done if the patient is anemic?

Reticulocyte count

What are some RBC indices?

Hemoglobin, MCV, MCHC, and MCH

What does MCV stand for?

Mean cell volume (measures average cell size)

What does MCHC stand for?

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (percent of the RBC that contains hemoglobin)

What does MCH stand for?

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin (average amount of hemoglobin per RBC, not percent like MCHC)