Complete Blood Count (CBC) Glossary of Terms

1. Essential Screening Tests Every Woman Needs Slideshow
2. Men's Health Essential Screening Tests Slideshow

Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Analysis: In psychology, a term for conversation-based therapeutic processes used to gain ...

Anemia: The condition of having a lower-than-normal number of red blood cells or quantity ...

Bacterial: Of or pertaining to bacteria, as in a bacterial lung infection.

Blood count: The calculated number of white or red blood cells (WBCs or RBCs) in a cubic m...

Bone marrow: The soft blood-forming tissue that fills the cavities of bones and contains f...

Cancer: An abnormal growth of cells which tend to proliferate in an uncontrolled way and, ...

CBC: A commonly used abbreviation in medicine that stands for complete blood count, a set...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Colon: The long, coiled, tubelike organ that removes water from digested food. The remaini...

Colon cancer: A malignant tumor arising from the inner wall of the large intestine (the co...

Complete blood count: A set values of the cellular (formed elements) of blood. These meas...

Elbow: The juncture of the long bones in the middle portion of the upper extremity. The bo...

Erythrocyte: A cell that contains hemoglobin and can carry oxygen to the body. Also called...

Genetic: Having to do with genes and genetic
information.

Heart: The muscle that pumps blood received from veins into arteries throughout the body. ...

Hematocrit: The proportion of the blood that consists of packed red blood cells. The hema...

Hemoglobin: The oxygen-carrying pigment and predominant protein in the red blood cells. He...

Immune: Protected against infection, usually by the presence of antibodies.

Immune system: A complex system that is responsible for distinguishing a person from every...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Inflammation: A localized reaction that produces redness, warmth, swelling, and pain as a ...

Injury: Harm or hurt. To harm, hurt, or wound. The word injure may be in physical or emot...

Kidney: One of a pair of organs located in the right and left side of the abdomen. The kid...

Laboratory: A place for doing tests and research procedures, and for preparing chemicals a...

Leukemia: Cancer of the blood cells. Strictly speaking, leukemia should refer only to canc...

Leukocyte count: A white blood cell (WBC) count.

Liter: A metric measure of capacity that is equal to the volume of 1 kilogram of water at ...

Liver: The largest solid organ in the body, situated in the upper part of the abdomen on t...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Lymphoma: A tumor of the lymphoid tissue. The major types of lymphoma are Hodgkin's diseas...

Malignancy: A tumor that is malignant (cancerous), that can invade and destroy nearby tiss...

Marrow: The bone marrow.

MCH: Abbreviation for mean cell hemoglobin, which is the average amount of hemoglobin in ...

MCHC: Abbreviation for mean cell hemoglobin concentration, which is the average concentra...

MCV: Abbreviation for mean cell volume, the average volume of a red blood cell. This is a ...

Microscope: An optical instrument that augments the power of the eye to see small objects....

Molecule: The smallest unit of a substance that can exist alone and retain the character o...

MPH: Master of public health, a degree designating successful training in analyzing past, ...

Normal range: Characteristic of 95 percent of values from a normal population. The remaini...

Outpatient: A patient who is not hospitalized, but instead comes to a physician?s office, ...

Oxygen: The odorless gas that is present in the air and necessary to maintain life. Oxygen...

Plasma: The liquid part of the blood and lymphatic fluid, which makes up about half of the...

Platelet: An irregular, disc-shaped element in the blood that assists in blood clotting....

Platelet aggregation: The clumping together of platelets in the blood. Platelet aggregatio...

Platelet count: The calculated number of platelets in a volume of blood, usually expressed...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

Proximal: Toward the beginning, the nearer of two (or more) items. For example, the proxim...

RBC: Short for red blood cells, the cells that carry oxygen and carbon dioxide through the...

Red blood cell: The blood cell that carries oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Red blood cells: The blood cells that carry oxygen. Red cells contain hemoglobin and it is...

Red cell distribution width: A measurement of the variability of red blood cell size. High...

Syringe: A medical device that is used to inject fluid into, or withdraw fluid from, the b...

Thalassemia: A group of genetic disorders that involve underproduction of hemoglobin, the ...

Thrombin: An enzyme that presides over the conversion of a substance called fibrinogen to ...

Thrombocytopenia: : A low platelet count. Platelets are irregular, disc-shaped element in ...

Vein: A blood vessel that carries blood that is low in oxygen content from the body back t...

Viral: Of or pertaining to a virus. For example, if a person has a viral rash, the rash wa...

Viral infection: Infection caused by the presence of a virus in the body. Depending on...

Vital: Necessary to maintain life. For example, breathing is a vital function.

WBC: White blood cell.

White blood cell: One of the cells the body makes to help fight infections. There are seve...

White blood cell count (leukocyte count): The number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the b...