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EDTA works as an anticoagulant by chelating all the calcium contained in bloodBlood is a circulating tissue composed of fluid plasma and cells ( red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets). Medical terms related to blood often begin in hemo or hemato ( BE: haemo and haemato from the Greek word for "blood". Blood of different spe. Calcium is needed for coagulationCoagulation is the thickening or congealing of any liquid into solid clots. This article is about a specific medical usage of the term with reference to human blood's mechanisms for forming scabs over wounds. The coagulation of human blood is a fairly com to occur; without calcium blood will not clot. The calcium levels needed to stop clotting are low enough to kill someone, so EDTA is only used as an anticoagulant outside the body; for instance in tubes of blood, and medical machinery.
EDTA is contained in purple, lavender and pink VacutainerVacutainer is a trademark of Becton, Dickinson and company for a kind of test tube designed for venipuncture. Principles The vein is first punctured with the hypodermic needle, which is connected to a translucent plastic holder. The needle actually has a (tubes that blood is taken in), and can be in the form of a powder, or a small amount of liquid, already in the tube.
The sodium or potassium salts of EDTA (K2EDTA, K3EDTA, Na2EDTA) are used in Vacutainer tubes. This means levels of these ions are increased, and detectable levels of calcium and magnesium are decreased. For this reason many clinical chemistry tests are not done using plasmaBlood plasma is a component of blood. It is the liquid in which blood cells are suspended. Blood plasma contains proteins, nutrients, metabolic end products, hormones, and inorganic electrolytes. Serum is the same as blood plasma except that clotting fact from EDTA tubes.