Our body is extremely complex and is made up of many systems which are interconnected to each other. Blood, also often referred to as ‘liquid life’, is what connects the whole body together. Blood carries materials from one organ to another for processing. It is blood that carries oxygen and nutrients to various parts of our bodies. Besides it also transports hormones secreted by endocrine glands for the proper functioning of the various systems in the body and finally
collects toxins and waste materials for excretion.
Blood also contains white blood cells, which are our defense against antigens or foreign material which can cause damage to our body. Unfortunately, our defense system is not always able to resist invasion attempts and many a times, antigens are able to make their way inside our body, causing damage to organs resulting in illnesses.
When these foreign materials like parasites, bacteria and viruses enter the body, they keep traveling from one organ to another, until they find an optimal space for gestation and reproduction. The immune system keeps producing antibodies to fight off these invaders and the blood chemistry keeps changing. This change in the blood chemistry is the key to identifying various different disorders that you may be suffering from. An allergy to a protein causes different changes to the blood chemistry than the ones caused by staphylococci bacteria.
Pathological blood tests are usually performed in laboratories, using blood samples which have been collected from a patient who has been experiencing certain symptoms. According to the symptoms being experienced by the patient, the doctor orders blood tests, with the help of which, the doctor may be able to diagnose the patients’ problems.
Blood can be drawn from a vein, using a needle and an injection, or from a finger prick, which is the more commonly used method of blood testing for young children. Blood tests can not only help find out the pathology of a disease, but can also determine both the physiological and the biochemical states of the body. Blood tests can indicate a state of disease, presence of minerals and nutrients in the body, effectiveness of functioning of the organs, health of the immunity system and many other aspects of functioning of the body.
Pathology blood tests are also often used to determine the efficiency of a treatment being given by a doctor. With the help of continuous blood tests, the treatment can be monitored and a course for recovery of the patient can be charted.