What Is Phlebotomy?

What is phlebotomy? Phlebotomy comes from the Greek words phlebo which means vein and tom meaning to cut, so it means cutting through the vein to extract blood.

The practice of phlebotomy, which is also called venipuncture, is the drawing of blood from a patient using medical needles. The blood is utilized by a physician either to study the clinical background of the patient or use the blood for a patient’s blood transfusion. Registered nurses and clinic aides are usually trained as phlebotomists.

What is Phlebotomy

When performing what is phlebotomy, the personal background of the patient must first be identified and checked for verification purposes. The equipment and medical supplies to be used will then be prepared while the phlebotomist washes his hand then put on surgical gloves before the blood extraction. The patient’s arm will then be made to rest extended and relaxed on a flat surface. The phlebotomist will select the most accessible vein after putting pressure into the arms while the patient’s fist is clenched.

The selected vein site is then thoroughly sanitized with an alcohol and dried up before blood extraction. The needle is then inserted into the vein and the blood is allowed to flow freely into a small tube. Once the blood sample is enough, the needle is removed and a gauze pad will be placed over the cut. The patient will then be asked to relax for a while. The blood on the other hand will be kept in storage either for clinical studies for the patient’s medical record or could be used for blood donation for transfusion.

The blood extracted from the patient should be well-kept and stored properly to avoid contamination. It is very important that the blood should not be contaminated so that it can serve its purpose.

The practitioners of phlebotomy should be pleasant and accommodating in order to ease the tension and relax the patient during blood extraction. There is also a need to be comfortable around children and be able to calm down kids so there won’t be any problems while looking for a vein site that will cause the least amount of pain and stress.

What is phlebotomy? It is a very important medical procedure because it is the basic step in doing a medical analysis of a patient. This lab test is actually a prerequisite in the detection of certain diseases. Innovations in Science have allowed the detection of serious illnesses from blood samples thus progression of the disease has been put under control. Major diseases like leukemia, anemia and even diabetes can be detected through blood test.

Most medical practitioners are basically trained for this bloodletting procedure because it is a basic medical test given to patients. The training can be given to nurses, doctors and hospital aides.

What is phlebotomy? It is a great help to medical professionals in the efficient analysis and diagnosis of serious diseases that require prolong medical treatment or even surgery. Blood samples can really go a long, long way in informing physicians of how serious or deadly an illness might be for a certain patient.

Next time you visit the hospital, remember a phlebotomist is not out to hurt you with needles but a friend to help you discover your medical disorder.