1117 Wk 8 Sample Collection and Handling

Anticoagulant

Any substance that inhibits or prevents clotting

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

An anticoagulant that binds calcium

Plasma

The fluid portion of the blood

Serum

The fluid portion of blood after it has clotted; it does not contain cells or coagulation proteins

Vacutainer

A glass tube with a rubber stopper from which air can be removed to create a vacuum; usually used to draw blood

What anticoagulant is preferred for routine hematologic studies because it preserves cell morphology?

Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA

What term describes the fluid portion of the blood that contains no formed elements or fibrinogen?

Serum

What can happen if a tourniquet is left in place for an extended amount of time?

hemoconcentration

What vessel is preferred for blood collection in most species?

Jugular vein

Ample blood should be collected to yield enough serum, plasma, or whole blood to run the planned tests how many times?

At least twice

When drawing multiple samples of blood from a patient, which anticoagulant tube should be drawn first?

Tubes that contain citrate additives (light blue top) are drawn first. These tubes usually require that a small amount of sample first be taken in a plain tube that is discarded. If no citrate tube is needed, the plain red-top tube is drawn first.