Three Main Blood Tests
Blood tests are used to check for certain diseases and conditions. They also help the doctors to check the function of your organs and show the progress of treatments. What are the three main blood tests? A blood test is typically composed of three main tests which include a complete blood count, a metabolic panel, and a lipid panel. Each of these tests elicit for different things which can be understood through a detailed analysis of the results.
Table of Contents
Complete Blood Count (CBC)
The components of CBC are the three types of blood cells including white blood cells (WBCs), red blood cells (RBCs) and platelets. By measuring the volume of blood cells, this blood test allows the doctor to evaluate your overall health and also to check for underlying conditions such as anemia or bone marrow issues. Therefore, the subtests within the CBC are:
- White blood cell (WBC) count
The leukocytes or white blood cell count is usually elevated if a person is fighting an infection. However, some medications can also cause an increase in the WBC count. The lab tests the five main components of white blood cells that include neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils.
- Red blood cell (RBC) count
Red blood cells (RBCs) carry oxygen to body tissues, making them vital to its healthy functioning. A red blood cell count estimates the volume of your RBCs, and if the results show a count above or below normal levels this can indicate various medical conditions to a doctor. Nevertheless, further tests will be necessary as this test is unable to pinpoint the root causes of any irregularities.The list of other necessary tests are hematocrit, hemoglobin, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), as well as the red cell distribution width (RDW or RCDW) test.
- Platelet count
Platelets are small cells that help in the blood clotting cascade Platelet count test measures the amount of platelets present in the blood. High count of platelets may indicate anemia,infection or cancer. Otherwise, a low count can prevent wounds from healing which result in severe bleeding.
Metabolic Panel
Metabolic panel test or chemistry panel, measures the levels of different chemicals found in the plasma portion of the blood such as your body’s glucose level, fluid and electrolyte balance, as well as liver and kidney function. A doctor will tell you whether you need to fast before a metabolic panel test, and for how long. The tests may look at the following matter:
- Glucose level: Elevated blood glucose levels could indicate a person has diabetes or is at risk of developing diabetes (pre-diabetes). Some cases, you may need to fast before a blood glucose test.
- Electrolytes: Abnormal electrolyte levels could indicate an issue with dehydration, kidney problems, or other underlying conditions.
- Kidneys: When there are problems with the kidney, the presence of excess waste products in the blood, such as blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine could be a clue.
- Uncorrected calcium levels: Abnormal calcium levels could indicate some underlying conditions related to kidneys or bones, malnutrition, cancer and other diseases.
Lipid Panel
A lipoprotein or lipid panel will provide information about:
- low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level – “good” cholesterol
- high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level – “bad” cholesterol
- triglycerides level in the blood
- total cholesterol level
These particular tests are very important for a doctor to assess a patient’s risk for developing coronary heart disease or other atherosclerotic problems
Conclusion
Blood tests are important to overall health as a good way to catch illness or disease promptly or to see how well the body responds to treatments for various conditions. The three main and common blood tests are the CBC, metabolic panel and lipid panel. However, there are several types of other blood tests that may be performed for evaluation such as thyroid panel, cardiac markers, coagulation panel, C-reactive protein test, and also sexually transmitted disease tes
