Blood test

For thoughtful child sponsors

Since blood flows throughout the body and is essential to provide oxygen and other nutrients to all parts of the body, and also draws waste products back from throughout the body to the excretory systems for disposal, the state of the bloodstream affects, or is affected by, many medical conditions. For these reasons, blood tests are some of the most commonly performed medical tests.

Blood is useful as it is a relatively non-invasive way to obtain cells, and extracellular fluid (plasma), from the the body to check on its health. Although the term blood test is used, most routine tests (except for most haematology) are done on plasma or serum.

Specific blood tests include:

Complete blood count
blood glucose test
ESR test
Haematocrit test
HIV test
MCV test ("mean corpuscular volume")
Oral glucose tolerance test (which involves a series of blood tests)
Protein electrophoresis test
Blood Urea Nitrogen test ("BUN")
Wassermann test (for syphilis)
Chem7 test - a battery of blood chemistry tests; the seven parts of a Chem7; sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and glucose
and lots more; please add to this list

The determination of blood type is also important for blood that is to be used for blood transfusion.

General biochemical techniques often used in blood testing include:

DNA testing is today possible with even very small quantities of blood: this is commonly used in forensic science.

Blood tests are often used to diagnose sexually transmitted diseases. Some jurisdictions insist on blood tests before marriage. Many states also require blood tests for all newborn babies.