Lab Tutor Blood

1. Choose two of the disease states of blood that you looked at in the lab, and describe the differences in the blood in comparison to normal blood.

One disease state examined during lab was Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. This condition is characterized by high numbers of abnormal leukocytes in comparison with normal blood. Another disease state examined was acute monocytic leukemia. Those with AML have an overproduction of myocytes because of cancer on the bone marrow. The blood will contain more myocytes than normal.

2. Height of the red blood cell column

1.9 cm = 19 mm

3. The calculated hematocrit is

1.9/5.6 x 100 = 33.9%

4. If an individual were suffering from polycythemia, how would this affect the hematocrit?

The hematocrit would be increased because there would be a signifigant decrease in the amount of plasma within the hematocrit. there would be an increase in red blood Cell count due to the overabundance of hemoglobin.

5. Besides polycythemia, name one more condition or disease state that can be detected/diagnosed using the hematocrit, and tell how the hematocrit would change

There are many diseases or conditions that can be detected using the hematocrit, one of them being iron deficiency anemia. Because of the lack of iron within the body, the body is less able to make red blood cells. Low iron contributes to a low red blood cell count as well as a low hemoglobin count. This leads to a lower hematocrit value than normal within the body as there will be less red blood cells to take up volume within the hematocrit.