3. How do you study blood damage?

In systemic toxicology studies, blood samples are taken from laboratory animals at the start, at various times and at the end of the study. The frequency of sampling, and the hematological analyses performed, depend on the type and duration of the study.

Investigations generally focus on the following parameters:

• total and differential leukocyte count ;

• erythrocyte and platelet counts ;

• hemoglobin concentration ;

• hematocrit (blood cell volume after centrifugation) ;

• mean corpuscular volume (MCV) ;

• mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) ;

• mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) ;

• ...