answersLogoWhite

0

When a patient needs certain blood work done for testing of potential conditions, one way of testing the blood is by doing a blood smear. A blood smear is done by doing a finger prick, extracting a drop of blood, and placing the drop of blood on a glass laboratory microscope plate. Once the drop of blood is on the glass plate, a separate glass plate is used to spread the drop of blood out. It is done by "smearing" the blood across the bottom plate. The desired and only lab-accepted "smear" results in a feathering of the blood, or a increasingly thinning of the amount of blood across the plate, in turn creating a feathered appearance of the blood on the plate. It helps the lab chemists look at the right amount of blood for determining the results of the blood test.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

Still curious? Ask our experts.

Chat with our AI personalities

ViviVivi
Your ride-or-die bestie who's seen you through every high and low.
Chat with Vivi
JordanJordan
Looking for a career mentor? I've seen my fair share of shake-ups.
Chat with Jordan
EzraEzra
Faith is not about having all the answers, but learning to ask the right questions.
Chat with Ezra
More answers

Blood smears are made with a feathered edge because this way the cells will be in a monolayer and won't be touching one another. To get a good feathered edge, one needs to use the right amount of blood and the correct spreading method.

User Avatar

Wiki User

10y ago
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: Why are blood smears made with a feathered edge?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp