BIO 248L

Human Anatomy & Physiology II Laboratory

Lab 1 - The Blood

I. Materials

A. alcohol swabs, lancets* and/or Autolets w/ lancets* and platforms*

B. wax pencils, toothpicks*

C. antisera A, B, D - let come to room temperature.

D. clean glass slides* or typing cards*

E. heparinized capillary tubes*

F. clay for plugging capillary tubes.

G. centrifuge - note position when placing tube

H. hematocrit reader

I. prepared stained blood smears: Wrights stained, Giemsa stained, eosinophilia, basophilia, acute infection, etc.

II. Procedures: (It is common to work in teams, sharing data within the team. However, students must handle only their own blood.)

A. Blood type - Using clean glass slides and wax pencils mark a slide as below.

Determine ABO blood type by placing one drop of antiserum on each position as indicated below. Rh (D) determination is optional and requires extra mixing and time.

B. Blood smear - Using a clean glass slide make a smear as shown below:

    After air drying, observe and draw unstained blood under a microscope. Identify erythrocytes, leucocytes, and platelets. Observe and draw from prepared and stained smears: erythrocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, (other leucocytes if seen), and platelets.

C. Hematocrit - Using a clean lancet draw blood from an unused finger and nearly fill a heparinized capillary tube. [Question: why is the tube heparinized?] Using a hematocrit scale or measuring with a ruler determine your hematocrit. Is the value obtained within the normal range?

III. Write-up: Prepare a report of the data and conclusions to be turned in the week following the laboratory.

A. Blood Type - Make a sketch of the result of your typing experiment showing which compartments agglutinated and listing the type indicated by this result.

B. Draw, using drawing paper and pencils (colored pencils recommended) both stained and unstained blood cells labeling each of the following:

unstained blood: erythrocytes, thrombocytes (platelets), leucocytes.

stained blood: erythrocytes, thrombocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, any other leucocytes seen.

C. Hematocrit - record the value obtained and indicate if this is within the normal range, or higher or lower than normal. Describe sources of error or other causes for abnormal results.

D. Clotting - record the value obtained and indicate if this is within the normal range, or higher or lower than normal. Compare this time with that which would be obtained from a surface wound (Bleeding Time). Describe sources of error or other causes for abnormal results.