Peripheral Blood Smear
A peripheral blood smear is a method of manually examining the cells that make up a sample of blood. It is often ordered as a follow up for an abnormal result on a complete blood count. A pathologist will examine a drop of blood under a microscope to visualize the details of each of the three cell types (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets). Characteristics that are compared include size, shape and appearance of the cells on the slide compared to “normal” cells. The peripheral smear is useful for diagnosing a variety of blood-related conditions including anemia, bone marrow disorders, leukemia and even vitamin deficiencies.
Resources: LabCorp: Blood Smear