How Is The Blood Smear Prepared ?
• A drop of blood is placed at one end of the slide. • Another slide is taken and used as a spreader. • The spreader slide will be made to run over the blood to disperse the blood over the length of the slide. • This makes the cells to be spaced far apart for easy counting and differentiation. • This slide is made to air dry. • Once drying is done, fixing of the blood to the slide is done by immersing it in methanol for a very brief period. • Fixing is important to get proper staining. The fixative is essential for good staining and presentation of the details of the cell. • Then staining is done. Common Blood Smear Stains : • Field’s stain • Giemsa stain • Jenner’s stain • Leishman stain • Romanowsky stain • Wright’s stain Detect Disorders With Blood Smears : Microscopic examination of red blood cells can help in diagnosing many life-threatening diseases. White blood cells are classified basing on their ability and intensity to stain with a particular staining agent, shape of the nucl
