formed elements
Medical term Routine Blood Collections
The solid part of blood: red cells, white cells and platelets (cell fragments), suspended in the liquid plasma.
Sources
Related terms
- plasmaThe liquid part of unclotted blood, separated by centrifuging a tube that contains an anticoagulant; it…
- evacuated tubeA sealed tube with a preset vacuum that draws a set blood volume when its stopper is pierced by the back of…
- evacuated tube systemClosed system of a multisample safety needle, a tube holder and vacuum tubes. Needle and holder go into the…
- fibrinProtein threads formed from fibrinogen during clotting that bind platelets and blood cells into a clot.
- fibrinogenA clotting protein in plasma that is converted into fibrin; plasma contains it, serum does not.
- gaugeThe number for a needle's bore: the higher the gauge, the thinner the needle. A 21-gauge needle is typical…
- glycolytic inhibitorAdditive, most often sodium fluoride in gray-top tubes, that keeps cells from consuming glucose after…
- heel stickCapillary puncture on the medial or lateral plantar surface of an infant's heel, used from birth to about 6…
- hematomaSwelling from blood leaking into tissue at the puncture, for example when the needle goes through the vein…