Blood

Blood is a bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells Leukemia (British spelling: leukaemia ) is cancer of the blood or bone marrow (which produces blood cells). A person who has leukemia suffers from an abnormal production of blood cells, generally leukocytes (white blood cells).

The symptoms of acute leukaemia usually appear quite suddenly, as this type of leukaemia develops quickly. Symptoms include:

weakness, tiredness and looking washed out', which may be due to reduced numbers of red blood cells. bleeding that takes a long time to stop, for example, heavy nosebleeds or bruising easily, which may be due to a decrease in platelets. regular infections and high temperatures, which may be due to your white blood cells not working properly. pain in the bones and joints.

How leukaemia is diagnosed

Diagnosing Leukemia: Physical Exam, Blood Tests, Biopsy
Blood test Leukaemia is suspected if a blood test shows large numbers of abnormal white blood cells and low numbers of normal white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Bone marrow biopsy

This test can help work out which leukaemia you have. A small amount of fluid will be collected from your bone marrow with a syringe. A small core of bone marrow will also be removed. The samples will be examined under a microscope. They'll also be examined for changes to genes that may be important for classifying and following the disease. Having a bone marrow biopsy can be uncomfortable, so you'll have a local anaesthetic. You may also have a drug to relax you and make you more comfortable. If you're treated for leukaemia, blood tests and bone marrow tests during and after treatment will check how the treatment's working.

Lymph node biopsy

If you have enlarged lymph nodes, your doctor may recommend a biopsy to see if this is related to leukaemia.

Lumbar puncture (spinal tap')

Your doctor may recommend a lumbar puncture. This is to check for leukaemic cells in the fluid around the brain and spinal cord.

If Leukemia Cells Are Found

If leukemia cells are found in the bone marrow sample, the doctor may perform more tests to determine if the disease has spread to other parts of the body. The doctor may collect a sample of the fluid around the brain and spinal cord by performing a spinal tap and checking for leukemia cells or other signs of problems. Chest X-rays, computed tomography (CT) scans, and ultrasounds are tests used to determine if leukemia has spread from the bone marrow. These tests produce pictures of the inside of the body. With these tests, the doctor looks for abnormalities such as enlarged organs or signs of infection.