What is the number of blood cells?
The number of blood cells involves measuring a number of different types of blood cells. It is useful to help detect diseases such as anemia where red blood cells can be transmitting oxygen in terms of their number or structure. The amount of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system may increase if a person has an infection. Plates involved in blood clotting can be reduced in diseases such as haemophilia where bleeding is excessive. What is known as a complete or full number of blood cells measures the number of white cells, red cells and plates in the blood unit, determines the proportion of red cells and how much hemoglobin contains and controls their size. This test can be done quite simply using a small syringe with a needle to draw a sample from a vein in the arm. Analysis and calculation of cells in the sample are usually performed by specialized machines. Cell shapes can also be examined if part of the sample is taken to be called what is called a blood coating where a thin layer is placed on the slidesblood and analyzed under a microscope.
Many different diseases can be detected from complete blood numbers, with perhaps the most commonly found anemia. Anemia may be indicated if the number of red blood cells is found to be low or the amount of hemoglobin is at a subnormal level. In low oxygen conditions, for example at high altitude or in diseases affecting bone marrow, red cells may show a high number of blood cells and the amount of hemoglobin may be increased.
where the number of white blood cells is too high, the cause could be an infection or rarely cancer. Monitoring of white -cell levels can sometimes be useful to assess whether the treatment of infection works. Some bone marrow diseases may lead to the opposite to finding a low number of blood cells for white cells, as this kind of disease may mean that their production in the bone marrow is affected. Bone marrow disorders can mannert increase or reduce the amount of platelets in the blood and where there is too little to allow normal blood clotting, abnormal bleeding may occur.
Most abnormalities found in the number of blood cells can have a number of causes. This means that additional tests will usually need to get a more accurate diagnosis. The treatment of any condition found will vary depending on its cause.