What are all the things you can measure with a blood test?

Answer 1

Blood tests are probably one of the most comprehensive tests used to get a general idea of the internal chemistry of an individual.

Here is a sort list:

Hematocrit (measurement of RBC's to total blood per unit volume, measured in a % normal is between 35-50%)

WBC (White blood cells, measures immune function, 4.5-11.0 x 10^3 per microliter are normal)

Platelets (a factor in blood clotting, normal is 150-450 x 10^3 microliters)

Hemoglobin (protein involved in oxygen exchange, inside RBCs, normal is between 12 and 17.5 g/dL)

Sodium (an electrolyte involved in fluid balance and electric potential of membranes, normal is 135-145 mEq/L)

Chloride (another electrolyte, normal is 98-106 mEq/L

I'm gonna go a little faster now

Calcium (important in blood pH buffer and of course bone formation)

Potassium (important in metabolism and electrolyte balance)

Bicarbonate (important in transport of CO2 from tissues to lungs, also pH balance of blood)

Albumin (Incredibly important in many aspects to transport of metabolites and wastes to/from tissues)

Bilirubin (remnants of dead red blood cells, important in testing liver function)

Blood lipids and their components (there are many, Lipase, Amylase, C-peptide, Cholesterol, VLDL, LDL, HDL, CM, Triglyercides)

Lactate (metabolite from muscle tissue, usually. Also a factor in pH balance of blood)

Uric acid (waste product of the breakdown of nucleotides) if elevated can lead to gout in joints

Ammonia (waste product of amino acid metabolism, tied with urea)

And the list could go on forever, here is a website that seems pretty thorough in what the blood tests.

http://www.amarillomed.com/howto.htm

Answer 2

You can confirm pregnancy and cancer with a blood test.

Answer 3

reference books are available which list laboratory tests. note the key word here: books