Submitted by: Submitted by cocoarebelle
Views: 10
Words: 515
Pages: 3
Category: Science and Technology
Date Submitted: 07/19/2016 10:37 AM
TITLE:
Determination of Total Red Blood Cell Count (manual method)
PRINCIPLE:
To facilitate the counting of red blood cells a 4.0ml of diluting fluid was mixed well with 20ul of whole blood in a 10 x 75mm test tube. The mixture was added to the Neubauer Haemocytometer and allowed to settle. The red blood cells were viewed at 10 x objective and then 40 x dry objective which aided in counting of the cells on the 5 smaller squares. The total RBC count can then deduced by use of a formula.
METHOD:
Same as laboratory handout.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
The physician may order a red blood cell count as part of a complete blood count as a routine check or if he/she sees signs and symptoms suggesting you may have a condition that affects your red blood cells. Also, if a patient shows signs of breathlessness, fatigue or pale skin a RBC can be ordered as the physician may want to check on your hemoglobin levels. An individual that has a lower than normal RBC range will also have a relatively low hemoglobin concentration and therefore a lower level of oxygen going to the tissues. Normal ranges are as follows females 3.5-4.5 x 10^12/L, males 4.0-5.5 x 10^12/L and babies 5.0-6.5 x 10^12/Higher than normal ranges in males, females and babies can indicate Polycythemia and a lower than normal range may be an indication of anemia.
SOURCES OF ERROR:
- Overflow of liquid in the moot and failure to remove this excess liquid
- Failure to allow cells to settle prior to counting
- Inadequate or improper mixing of the test tube after dilution
- Failure to focus microscope up and down during counting
- Failure to make a 1:101 dilution to ensure an accurate count when there are severe cases of anemia and total RBC is very low
- When total red cell count is very high it may be difficult to obtain an accurate count.
- Strenuous physical activity tends to increase the red cell count
- Failure to remove...