Author Description

About a third of all medical diagnoses involve blood work, and nearly everyone must at some time visit a laboratory for a blood test. But the results invariably appear in highly technical terms, with obscure abbreviations and mysterious numbers which a physician cannot fully explain during a brief office visit. Like numerous forward-looking physicians, doctors Birkner and Hoffmann believe that an informed patient is the most likely to stay healthy and to recover well from an illness. And this is why they have written this easy-to-read guide to blood test results. Included are how your blood functions in each part of the body; the steps and technology involved in a blood test, and what can, and cannot, be learned from the results; clear explanations of the riddles of lab printouts; how your blood reflects illnesses in the different organs and systems of the body; detailed explanations of the tests used for such conditions as anemia, heart disease, diabetes, high alcohol levels, AIDS, leukemia, hormone imbalances, liver disease, organ inflammations and more; and a detailed Appendix containing normal to abnormal ranges for crucial measurements, such as blood sugar and fat levels.