Blood lancet

Box of disposable lancets.
Blood-sampling device with a lancet at the tip.

A blood lancet, or simply lancet, is a small medical implement used for capillary blood sampling. A blood lancet is similar to a small scalpel but with a double-edged blade or needle. Lancets are used to make punctures, such as a fingerstick, to obtain small blood specimens. Blood lancets are generally disposable.

Lancets are also used to prick the skin in skin testing for allergies.[1]

A blood-sampling device, also known as a lancing device, is a reusable instrument equipped with a lancet. It is also most commonly used by diabetics during blood glucose monitoring. The depth of skin penetration can be adjusted for various skin thicknesses. Long lancing devices are used for fetal scalp blood testing to get a measure of the acid base status of the fetus.

Blood sampling

The small capillary blood samples obtained can be tested for blood glucose, hemoglobin, and many other blood components.

References

  1. ↑ Abstract: The Allergy Pricker

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blood lancets.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, July 13, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.