What are serum components?
Blood serum consists of plasma that has been removed fibrinogens. Plasma is a liquid part of the blood and has a yellow color and is mainly made of water. Fibrinogens consist of proteins that cause blood clotting. Serum components are often measured during laboratory tests where blood work is required and various tests are used. Albumin is a protein soluble in water present in the blood. It is a protein that is most abundant in the plasma of all mammals. In fact, albumin is half of the protein found in the plasma. By nature, albumin is a bearing protein. It is used to transport some hormones and fatty acids throughout the body.
Globulin is another of the serum components present in the plasma. Globulin is also a protein. It is produced by both the liver and the immune system. Antibodies are often suspicious when globulin levels are low. Globulin term is sometimes used when reference to any globular protein. This can be misleading because some globular proteins like alBumin is not actually globulins themselves.
Another of the serum components is a group of molecules known as lipids. Lipids include things such as fats, oils and triglycerides. Cholesterol is also often checked during a lipid profile. This test can help determine whether the patient suffers from conditions such as coronary heart disease or arteries.
Serum iron is another test carried out during the inspection of serum components. This test is often performed when there is a suspicion of iron deficiency such as anemia. This test is usually performed along with other tests to accurately measure iron levels circulating in the bloodstream.
Serum protein electrophoresis is another test used in serum components testing. This test is used to measure proteins known as globulins. In this particular test, globular proteins are actually separated and classified by electricricbies and size. This test measures serum albumin, alpha globulins, beta globulins and gamma globulina.
Total serum protein is another test of serum components. This test is often used instead of a serum protein electrophoresis test. This test is generally preferred because it is a much cheaper test. Serum protein test results also return much faster than serum electrophoresis test results.