UAMS Hematology Lab Practical Final Review Exam
2026/2027 Questions And Answers Graded A+
What is a good area when viewing a blood smear?
Cells should be touching each other with minimal overlap.
How do you perform a WBC estimate?
Select a good area on slide. Average the number of white cells in five low power
fields. Multiply the average by 200. (One white cell under low power, 10x, equals
approximately 200 WBCs)
How do you check for platelet clumps?
Check for platelet clumps after performing WBC estimate. Look at the feather
edge or side margins of the smear.
If you can't get your slide to focus, what are the potential issues?
The slide is upside down. A drop of oil wasn't added to the slide. The coarse adjust
knob has been turned too far one way or another.
What is a good area in oil immersion?
Cells touching with minimal overlap. Approximately 200 RBCs per oil field.
,What do we look at under oil immersion?
We look at the morphology of the red blood cells, we identify and differentiate
white blood cells, and we observed platelets for number, size, and morphology.
How do you perform a platelet estimate?
Average the platelet number in 5 oil fields. Multiply by 20,000.
What will the slide look like if the sample is too old? How old is too old?
WBCs break up or disintegrate; vacuoles may appear. Platelets begin to clump.
Red cells change size and shaped, especially forming crenation. A sample is too
old when it remains at room temperature for more than 5 hours.
What is the smear prep process?
Place drop of blood from EDTA tube on with 1/2 inch from the frosted end of a
slide. Lay the slide on a flat surface. Place the end of a second (spreader) slide,
held with the fingertips at an angle of 30-45 degrees, in front of the drop of blood.
Pull the spreader slide back into the drop of blood. Allow blood to spread entire
width of slide. Quickly and smoothly push the spreader slide forward.
What tools do you need to prepare a smear?
Glass slides, blood, cover slip
, What causes a bad smear?
Dirty slide, jerky motion, pointed feather edge, angle of the spreader slide too
steep, did not allow blood to spread, high level of lipids, unequal pressure.
What is the coverslip smear used for?
Used for making bone marrow preps.
What the items needed for the Wright's stain?
Wright's stain, buffer, rinse solution, timer, jars or other containers for holding the
stain, buffer, and rinse.
What are the sources of error when staining a smear?
Stain or buffer is too acidic or alkaline, prolonged staining, heparinized blood
sample, prolonged rinsing, under-buffering.
What is the difference between agglutination and rouleaux?
Rouleaux are orderly linear stacks of RBCs, whereas RBC agglutination is formed
by grapelike RBC aggregates.
What is used to lyse the RBCs?
3% acetic acid
2026/2027 Questions And Answers Graded A+
What is a good area when viewing a blood smear?
Cells should be touching each other with minimal overlap.
How do you perform a WBC estimate?
Select a good area on slide. Average the number of white cells in five low power
fields. Multiply the average by 200. (One white cell under low power, 10x, equals
approximately 200 WBCs)
How do you check for platelet clumps?
Check for platelet clumps after performing WBC estimate. Look at the feather
edge or side margins of the smear.
If you can't get your slide to focus, what are the potential issues?
The slide is upside down. A drop of oil wasn't added to the slide. The coarse adjust
knob has been turned too far one way or another.
What is a good area in oil immersion?
Cells touching with minimal overlap. Approximately 200 RBCs per oil field.
,What do we look at under oil immersion?
We look at the morphology of the red blood cells, we identify and differentiate
white blood cells, and we observed platelets for number, size, and morphology.
How do you perform a platelet estimate?
Average the platelet number in 5 oil fields. Multiply by 20,000.
What will the slide look like if the sample is too old? How old is too old?
WBCs break up or disintegrate; vacuoles may appear. Platelets begin to clump.
Red cells change size and shaped, especially forming crenation. A sample is too
old when it remains at room temperature for more than 5 hours.
What is the smear prep process?
Place drop of blood from EDTA tube on with 1/2 inch from the frosted end of a
slide. Lay the slide on a flat surface. Place the end of a second (spreader) slide,
held with the fingertips at an angle of 30-45 degrees, in front of the drop of blood.
Pull the spreader slide back into the drop of blood. Allow blood to spread entire
width of slide. Quickly and smoothly push the spreader slide forward.
What tools do you need to prepare a smear?
Glass slides, blood, cover slip
, What causes a bad smear?
Dirty slide, jerky motion, pointed feather edge, angle of the spreader slide too
steep, did not allow blood to spread, high level of lipids, unequal pressure.
What is the coverslip smear used for?
Used for making bone marrow preps.
What the items needed for the Wright's stain?
Wright's stain, buffer, rinse solution, timer, jars or other containers for holding the
stain, buffer, and rinse.
What are the sources of error when staining a smear?
Stain or buffer is too acidic or alkaline, prolonged staining, heparinized blood
sample, prolonged rinsing, under-buffering.
What is the difference between agglutination and rouleaux?
Rouleaux are orderly linear stacks of RBCs, whereas RBC agglutination is formed
by grapelike RBC aggregates.
What is used to lyse the RBCs?
3% acetic acid
