Venipuncture and Blood Collection

1. List 3-4 tests associated with the following tubes:

1. Red (no-additive; no coagulant; rarely used in practice)
- Bacteriology & Viral Serology
- Selenium
- Zinc
- Vitamin D
- Insulin
2. Red and black mottled (SST) or Hemogard = aka Gold (very important tube commonly
used)
- Aldosterone
- B12
- Ferritin
- Cholesterol
- TSH
3. Light Blue (sodium citrate)
- Factor Assays
- Lupus Anticoagulant
- Anti-thrombin 3
- Fibrinogen
- Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT)
- Prothrombin Time (PT/INR)
- Protein C & S
4. Lavender (Liquid EDTA)
- Used for COMPLETE BLOOD COUNTS
- G6PD
- HbA1C
- HLAB-27
- PTH
- RBC; WBC; Reticulocytes
- ESR
- Direct Coombs
5. Green or Green PST (Sodium Heparin)
- Used for STAT blood chemistries utilizing plasma (STAT aka immediate blood
chemistries)
- Chromosome
- LE Cell Prep
6. Grey (Potassium Oxalate & Sodium Fluoride)
- Ethanol (blood alcohol levels)
- Glucose & Glucose Challenge Test
- Tolerance Tests: Glucose; Lactose; Xylose
- Lactic Acid can use for high level athletes (they have high lactic threshold)
7. Black (fill the tube completely; Buffered Sodium Citrate)
- Westergren Sedimentation Rate i.e. ESR
8. Royal Blue (No additive)
- Amitriptyline
- Clomipramine
- Copper
Royal Blue (K2 EDTA) used for TRACE METAL ANALYSIS
- Arsenic
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Mercury
- Nickel
- Zinc
9. Brown/Tan (Sodium Heparin or K2 EDTA)

- Lead analysis important for childhood diseases

10. Yellow (do not confuse with gold)
- SPS additive - for blood culture speciments in microbiology
- ACD additive - for HLA phynotyping & DNA genetic tests
2. Place the following tubes in the correct order for blood collection:

Lavender
Blue coagulation tube
Sterile/Blood cultures
Gray
Yellow
Red (non-additive)
Green
Red and black mottled (SST) (AKA Gold)

Exam Answer (Dr. P. has a different order in the lecture slides posted on moodle):
- Sterile/Blood Cultures
- Light Blue
- Red (non-additive)
- Navy Blue CLOT ACTIVATOR
- Red and black mottled (SST) aka gold
- Green
- Yellow
- Lavender
- Black
- Navy Blue EDTA (K2)
- Grey
3. Briefly list the steps involved when collecting a blood sample:
-

Draw blood
Invert 5 times
Sit for 30 minutes (to allow it to clot)
Centrifuge for 10 minutes (to separate the serum which is the part evaluated in the lab)