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Understanding Your Test Results

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If you've ever gotten your lab test results back, and were left confused by all the strange medical jargon, you're not alone. Don't worry though, you can become literate in your test results. This guide will help you to better understand basic definitions and get a sense of how information on a typical report is organized and presented, allowing you to interpret your test results with confidence.

Complete Blood Count

The complete blood count (CBC), focuses on the health of three types of blood cells; red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. This screening tool helps your doctor identify allergies and infections, or to diagnose potential diseases and conditions like anemia and leukemia.

White Blood Cell (WBC)

White blood cells, also called leukocytes, are a major component of the body's immune system. Your body produces more white blood cells if you have an allergic reaction or infection.

Red Blood Cell (RBC)

Red blood cells deliver oxygen to tissues throughout the body. A high RBC count may be the result of kidney problems, a heart condition, or dehydration. Low RBC counts can indicate nutritional deficiency, bone marrow damage, kidney problems, or anemia.

Hemoglobin, Hematocrit, Mean Corpuscular Value (MCV), Mean Corpuscular Hemoglobin (MCH)

These blood test results often appear under the RBC section, because they further examine the function and health of your RBCs. Hemoglobin is measured to help determine if your organs and tissues are receiving enough oxygen. Hematocrit results show the volume of blood taken up by the RBCs. This helps to determine if you have too high or too low of a red blood cell count.

Blood cells are often referred to as corpuscles, and the mean corpuscular value measures the average size of RBCs. Abnormal sized red blood cells may indicate a vitamin B12 deficiency or anemia. Mean corpuscular hemoglobin measure the average amount of hemoglobin inside red blood cells. It's often evaluated along with the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), which measure the average percentage of hemoglobin in red blood cells.

Platelets and Mean Platelet Value (MVP)

Platelets are fragments of blood cells. Low platelet count can indicate risk of excessive bleeding, while high platelet counts may indicate risk of blood clots. The MVP test measures the average amount of platelets and may reveal subtle disorders when platelet counts are normal.

Basophils, Eosinophils, Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, and Monocytes

The results of these five types of white blood cells often appear below the list of RBC results. The health and amount of these cells is helpful in identifying allergies and infections. For instance, basophils have small particles with enzymes that are released during asthma or an allergic reaction.

Comprehensive Metabolic Panel (CMP)

This group of tests provides a broad picture of the body's chemical balance and metabolism, as well as providing information about its electrolytes. Common electrolytes tested are calcium, chloride, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium and potassium. The CMP often measures chemicals and substances such as albumin, bilirubin and creatinine. Too much bilirubin could indicate jaundice, while low levels of albumin can indicate inflammation, malnutrition and liver or kidney disease. Elevated levels of creatinine can indicate poor kidney function.

Fasting Glucose Test

The fasting glucose test is another part of the CMP test, and abnormal levels of glucose can be a sign of diabetes.