QA

Quick Answer: How To Make A Blood Smear

How do you make blood smear?

Place clean glass slide on a flat surface. Add one small drop of blood to one end. Take another clean slide, and holding at an angle of about 45 deg, touch the blood with one end of the slide so the blood runs along the edge of the slide by capillary action. Make 2 smears, allow to air dry, and label clearly.

What makes a good blood smear?

An optimal smear is three-quarters the length of the slide and has a feathered edge. Leave the slide to air dry and make more smears if required. Pack smears individually into slide holders.

What are the three methods of preparing a blood smear?

Four different types of smear preparation methods (conventional method, blood film method, drop and rest method, and water-wash method) were carried out according to the standard reference as described below.

What stain is used for blood smears?

Blood films are routinely stained with a Romanowsky-type stain (e.g., Wright or Wright-Giemsa) either manually or using an automatic slide stainer. Romanowsky-type stains are composed of a mixture of eosin and oxidized methylene blue (azure) dyes.

How can I make my blood smear longer?

Long smear / no feathered edge • Use a smaller drop of blood. Increase the angle of the spreader slide. Increase the speed of the spreader slide. Thick smear • Use smaller drop of blood.

What kind of edge is needed for a smear?

Look at the slide and grossly check the smear, making sure it has two edges: These two edges include the feathered edge (a thin portion) and the thick edge (a base). Approximately two-thirds to three-fourths of the slide length should be covered by the smear with no irregularities, streaks, or holes.

What type of slide would you use for a blood smear?

Blood Smear Process and Technique Using a high quality clean glass slide (flat, no distortions and corrosion resistant) of 75mm X 25mm and 1mm thickness is ideal.

How do you make a wedge blood smear?

The wedge method: First, place a 2-3 mm drop of blood about 1 cm from the frosted end of a clean slide that is on a flat surface. Second, with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, hold the end of a second slide or coverglass (“spreader slide”) against the surface of the first slide at an angle of 30-45 degrees.

What is the most important thing to remember when creating a blood smear?

What is the most important thing to remember when creating a blood smear? The important thing to do when creating a blood smear is to create a feather edge .

How do you make a bacterial smear?

c. Culture from solid media: Using a sterile pipette, add one drop of sterile saline or sterile water to the center of the microscope slide. Aseptically pick a small amount of an isolated colony with a loop and gently mix into the drop of sterile saline or water using circular motions. Mix evenly to make a thin smear.

What is blood smear technique?

The PUSH technique: Take a second slide and lie the edge flat on the smear slide. Pull the second slide back until it contacts the drop of blood. Allow the blood to spread along the edge of the slide. Once blood has spread along the edge of the second slide then push it away from the drop of blood firmly and swiftly.

What are the important precautions in preparing a blood smear?

Precautions to be taken during preparation: Angle should be maintained at 45°. Blood drop should be of proper size. Spreader’s edges should be smooth and it should be smaller than the slide on which smear is being made. Pressure applied should be proper. Drop should be pulled with spreader not pushed with it.

How do you make a Wright stain?

Wright Stain Method Place 1.0 ml of the Wright Stain Solution upon the smear 1 – 3 minutes. Add 2.0 ml distilled water or Phosphate buffer pH 6.5 and let stand twice as long as in step 1. Rinse stained smear with water or the Phosphate buffer pH 6.5 until the edges show faintly pinkish-red.

Why is heparin not used for blood smear?

Heparin is not recommended as an anticoagulant because leukocytes and thrombocytes clump, invalidating WBC counts and differential cell counts.

What is blood film making?

Blood films are made by placing a drop of blood on one end of a slide, and using a spreader slide to disperse the blood over the slide’s length. The aim is to get a region, called a monolayer, where the cells are spaced far enough apart to be counted and differentiated.

How do you lengthen or shorten a blood smear?

Invert the tube of EDTA blood 10 times. How long should the blood smear extend? It should extend 2/3s of the total slide area.

How does alcohol fix a blood smear?

Blood smears are fixed by dipping in absolute methanol or ethanol for 30 seconds. Fixation is a technique that is varied depending on the quality of results you wish to achieve. No one method is absolute and alterations to time and type of fixation are normal in a biological laboratory.

When making a blood smear the goal is?

Terms in this set (23) What is the purpose of staining blood smears? Smears are stained so that formed elements can be preserved for microscopic viewing and identifying and evaluating blood cell morphology.