Free blood test guide
What do my blood test results mean?
Add your report or type one result. See each number in plain words — where it sits against the range, what usually moves it, and what to ask your doctor.
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- 106 tests explained
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106 tests explained · Plain words, no sign-up
The basics
How to read a blood test report
Most reports print each test on one line, with the same five parts.
ALT (SGPT)
Test
The name, often with an older name or abbreviation.
64
Your result
Your number from this sample.
H
Flag
H or L: outside the lab's range.
9–46
Range
The lab's own range. This is the one that counts.
U/L
Unit
Ranges only compare in the same unit.
01
The range on your report is the one that counts.
Labs use different machines and methods, so their ranges differ a little. It's usually printed right next to your result, sometimes called the reference interval.
02
A flag means outside the range — not an emergency.
H or L marks a result for your doctor to look at. Most flags are small, and many settle on a repeat test.
03
One number is rarely the whole story.
Doctors look for patterns across related tests, and at how a result has changed since last time.
04
Timing moves numbers.
Food, alcohol, hard exercise, a recent cold, not drinking enough and even the time of day can nudge a result.
Every test
Every test, in plain words
Grouped the way most reports print them. Each has its own page with the typical range, what moves it and what to ask.
Blood count
Your red cells, white cells and platelets — how many, and what they look like.
- WBCThe total number of white blood cells, the body's infection fighters.
- RBCThe number of red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body.
- HemoglobinThe protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen.
- HematocritHow much of the blood's volume is red blood cells.
- MCVThe average size of your red blood cells.
- MCHThe average amount of hemoglobin inside each red blood cell.
- MCHCHow concentrated the hemoglobin is inside the red blood cells.
- RDWHow much your red blood cells vary in size.
- PlateletsTiny cell pieces that help the blood clot.
- MPVThe average size of your platelets.
- NeutrophilsThe most common white blood cells, the first to fight bacteria.
- LymphocytesWhite blood cells that fight viruses and make antibodies.
- MonocytesWhite blood cells that clean up germs and damaged tissue.
- EosinophilsWhite blood cells involved in allergies and fighting parasites.
- BasophilsThe rarest white blood cells, involved in allergic reactions.
- Immature granulocytesYoung white blood cells released early from the bone marrow.
- Reticulocyte countYoung red blood cells, showing how fast new ones are made.
Kidneys and body salts
How well the kidneys filter, and the salts they keep in balance.
- CreatinineA waste product from muscles that the kidneys clear.
- eGFRAn estimate of how much blood your kidneys filter each minute.
- BUNA waste product made when the body breaks down protein.
- UreaThe protein waste that US reports print as BUN.
- BUN/creatinine ratioBUN divided by creatinine, a clue to the cause of changes.
- SodiumA mineral salt (electrolyte) that keeps the body's water in balance.
- PotassiumA mineral salt (electrolyte) that keeps your heartbeat and muscles steady.
- ChlorideA mineral salt (electrolyte) that works with sodium to balance fluids.
- CO2Mostly bicarbonate, which keeps your blood from becoming too acidic.
- Anion gapA calculated number that checks the blood's acid balance.
- Uric acidA waste product from breaking down purines, found in cells and foods.
- Cystatin CA small protein that shows how well the kidneys filter.
Blood sugar
Sugar in the blood today, and on average over the last few months.
Liver
Enzymes and proteins that show how the liver and bile ducts are doing.
- ALTAn enzyme that lives mostly inside liver cells.
- ASTAn enzyme found in the liver, muscles and heart.
- ALPAn enzyme from the liver and bile ducts, and from bone.
- GGTA liver enzyme that rises with alcohol and bile duct problems.
- Total bilirubinA yellow pigment made when old red blood cells break down.
- Direct bilirubinThe part of bilirubin the liver has already processed.
- Indirect bilirubinThe part of bilirubin the liver has not yet processed.
- AlbuminThe main protein in blood, made by the liver.
- Total proteinAll the protein in the liquid part of blood.
- GlobulinBlood proteins that include antibodies, the infection fighters.
- A/G ratioAlbumin divided by globulin, the two main blood proteins.
- LDHAn enzyme found in almost every cell of the body.
Pancreas
Digestive enzymes that rise when the pancreas is irritated.
Cholesterol and fats
The fats in the blood that matter for the heart and blood vessels.
- Total cholesterolAll the cholesterol in your blood, good and bad together.
- LDL cholesterolThe 'bad' cholesterol that can build up in artery walls.
- HDL cholesterolThe 'good' cholesterol that carries extra cholesterol back to the liver.
- TriglyceridesThe main type of fat carried in the blood.
- Non-HDL cholesterolAll the 'bad' cholesterol together: total cholesterol minus HDL.
- VLDL cholesterolCholesterol carried in the particles that mainly carry triglycerides.
- Cholesterol/HDL ratioTotal cholesterol divided by HDL; lower is better.
- ApoBCounts the particles that carry 'bad' cholesterol in the blood.
- Lp(a)A cholesterol particle whose level is set mainly by your genes.
Heart and muscle
Signals from the heart and muscles, usually checked for a reason.
- TroponinA protein that leaks from heart muscle when it is injured.
- BNPA hormone the heart releases when it is under strain.
- NT-proBNPA marker the heart releases along with BNP when strained.
- CKAn enzyme that leaks from muscles after hard use or injury.
- HomocysteineA protein building block that rises when B vitamins run low.
Inflammation
General signs that something in the body is inflamed.
Thyroid
The gland that sets the body's pace, and the signal that drives it.
- TSHA brain hormone that tells the thyroid how hard to work.
- Free T4The active, unattached form of the thyroid's main hormone.
- Free T3The unattached form of T3, the most active thyroid hormone.
- Total T4All the thyroxine in the blood, bound and free together.
- Total T3All the T3 thyroid hormone in the blood, bound and free.
- TPO antibodiesImmune proteins aimed at an enzyme inside the thyroid.
- Thyroglobulin antibodiesImmune proteins aimed at thyroglobulin, a protein stored in the thyroid.
Hormones
Sex and stress hormones. Most only make sense with age and timing.
- CortisolThe main stress hormone, made by the adrenal glands above the kidneys.
- TestosteroneThe main male sex hormone, also made in smaller amounts in women.
- Free testosteroneThe part of testosterone that is free for the body to use.
- SHBGA carrier protein that holds testosterone and estrogen in the blood.
- EstradiolThe main estrogen, a sex hormone made mostly by the ovaries.
- ProgesteroneA hormone that rises after ovulation to prepare the womb for pregnancy.
- LHA brain hormone that triggers ovulation and drives testosterone in men.
- FSHA brain hormone that ripens eggs and helps make sperm.
- ProlactinA brain hormone best known for making breast milk.
- DHEA-SAn adrenal gland hormone the body turns into sex hormones.
Bones and minerals
Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus, and the hormone that manages them.
- CalciumA mineral that builds bones and keeps nerves and muscles working.
- Ionized calciumThe free, active part of the calcium in blood.
- MagnesiumA mineral that keeps muscles, nerves and the heartbeat steady.
- PhosphorusA mineral that works with calcium to build bones and teeth.
- PTHThe hormone that tells the body to raise blood calcium.
Iron and vitamins
Iron stores and the vitamins most often checked.
- IronThe iron traveling in the blood when the sample was taken.
- FerritinThe body's iron-storage protein; its level mirrors your iron reserves.
- TIBCHow much iron the blood's iron carrier could hold.
- Transferrin saturationHow full the blood's iron carrier is, as a percent.
- TransferrinThe protein that carries iron through the blood.
- Vitamin B12A vitamin needed for healthy nerves and red blood cells.
- FolateA B vitamin the body needs to make red blood cells.
- Vitamin DThe main blood test of the body's vitamin D supply.
Clotting
How quickly the blood clots, and signs of recent clotting.
- PTHow many seconds a blood sample takes to form a clot.
- INRThe clotting time (PT), put on a scale that every lab shares.
- aPTTA clotting time, in seconds, that checks another group of clotting proteins.
- FibrinogenA liver-made protein that forms the mesh of a blood clot.
- D-dimerA fragment released when the body breaks down a blood clot.
Prostate and tumor markers
Tests used mostly to follow a known condition. Many things raise them.
- PSAA protein made by the prostate, a small gland below the bladder.
- Free PSAThe share of PSA floating free in the blood, as a percent.
- CEAA protein some tumors release, used mainly to follow a known condition.
- CA 125A protein made by the linings of the belly, chest and uterus.
- CA 19-9A substance released by cells of the pancreas, bile ducts and gut.
- AFPA protein made before birth, found only in small amounts in adults.
Questions
What people ask
Is a result outside the range always a problem?
No. A typical range is built so that about 95 in 100 healthy people fall inside it — which means about 1 in 20 healthy people land just outside it on any single test. How far out a result is, whether it's new, and what the related tests show matter more than the flag itself.
Why is the range on my report different from the one here?
Labs use different machines and methods, and some set ranges by age or sex. Always go by the range printed next to your result. When the page can find that range on your report, it uses it; the typical adult range is only a fallback.
Is my report uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read inside your browser, on your device, and nothing from it is sent to us or to anyone else. We only count, anonymously, that the page was used — never what it read.
Should I wait for my appointment?
Most results outside the range can wait for a routine visit. Call your doctor's office sooner if a result is marked as needing attention today, if your doctor asked you to call, or if you feel unwell. If you feel very unwell, call your local emergency number.
Can this tell me what's wrong?
No. It explains what each number measures and what usually moves it. Putting the numbers together with your symptoms, medicines and history is your doctor's job.
Where do the ranges and explanations come from?
From public clinical references — the sources are listed at the bottom of each test's page. The ranges are typical adult ranges; children, pregnancy and some conditions use different ones.
What this page can’t do
It reads each number on its own.
Doctors read results together — ALT with AST, ferritin with hemoglobin, TSH with free T4. A pattern says more than any single flag.
It doesn't know you.
Your age, your medicines, how you feel and your last result all change what a number means.
It doesn't remember.
Close this page and your results are gone. That's on purpose: nothing was ever sent to us.
We also make Vita: Health Coach, an app for those parts. It reads your whole report with your medicines and history in mind, answers follow-up questions in plain words, and keeps your reports in one place — for you and for the people you look after.
Vita: Health Coach on the App Store