{"id":4386,"date":"2022-10-28T12:32:46","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T16:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathology\/?post_type=chapter&p=4386"},"modified":"2025-08-17T20:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T00:29:39","slug":"blood-tests-leukemia-chapter-overview","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/pathology\/chapter\/blood-tests-leukemia-chapter-overview\/","title":{"raw":"Blood, Anemia, Leukemia & Blood Tests Chapter Overview","rendered":"Blood, Anemia, Leukemia & Blood Tests Chapter Overview"},"content":{"raw":"
\r\n

Chapter Learning Objectives<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n

\r\n\r\nBy the end of this chapter, you will be able to:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Identify the primary functions of blood in transportation, defense, and maintenance of homeostasis.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Name the fluid and cellular components of blood and identify their relative proportions in a blood sample.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Identify the composition of blood plasma, including its most important solutes and plasma proteins.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Describe how anemia can develop, its classification, appearance in peripheral blood smears, and treatment.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Briefly explain how leukemia can develop, its classification, appearance in peripheral blood smears and bone marrow biopsies, and treatment.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Compare and contrast the signs and symptoms of anemia and leukemia.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • List the specialties of medical laboratory sciences and the tests they do with blood.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Explain the blood test iron studies and how it is related to the diagnosis of anemia.<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Briefly describe the journey a blood sample takes in LifeLabs, when being analyzed for hematology and blood chemistry test.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_6667\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"512\"]\"A Blood Cells<\/strong> - A single drop of blood contains millions of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. One of each type is shown here, isolated from a scanning electron micrograph.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nBlood is essential for life: it delivers all the oxygen and nutrients the tissues need and removes their wastes. The cellular components of blood\u2014referred to as the formed elements\u2014include red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and cell fragments called platelets. Plasma, which is mostly water, suspends the formed elements and carries within it everything that is water soluble (e.g., nutrients and electrolytes). Together, the plasma and formed elements circulate throughout the body as part of the cardiovascular system.\r\n\r\nBlood disorders are often associated with disorders of the formed elements. Anemia is a blood disorder involving the abnormal synthesis of RBCs and\/or hemoglobin. Anemia is quite common in the population due to a variety of causes.\r\n\r\nIn contrast, blood cancers - called leukemias - involve an inability to produce mature blood cells from the bone marrow. Leukemias involve the overproduction of abnormal, immature blood cells - called blasts - which crowd out and replace the growth an maturation of blood cells. Leukemias can be subclassified based on the blood stem cell that is abnormally proliferating (lymphoid vs myeloid stem cell) and whether the leukemia develops suddenly (i.e. acute) or long term (i.e. chronic)\r\n\r\nFrom a health care perspective, blood tests are a common part of investigations. However, 'blood tests' are actually subdivided (like blood itself) into tests for either the number\/quality of mature blood cells (e.g. hematology test will look at the number of RBC, WBC, and platelets) or tests for the content within plasma (E.g. chemistry test will look at amount of glucose and electrolytes within the plasma part of blood). Taken together, these test results can give signs of organ dysfunction, along with a snapshot of a person's ability to carry oxygen, nutrients, electrolytes.\r\n\r\nThis chapter is subdivided into:\r\n