Medical Glossary

The main protein in your blood, made by the liver. It helps keep fluid inside your blood vessels.

An enzyme found mainly in liver cells. It leaks into the blood when the liver is irritated or damaged.

A condition where you don't have enough healthy red blood cells or haemoglobin to carry oxygen around your body.

An enzyme found in the liver, muscle and other tissues. It rises when these tissues are irritated or damaged.

A yellow substance made when old red blood cells are broken down. The liver processes it and removes it in bile.

A waste product from normal muscle activity that the kidneys filter out of your blood.

A protein made by the liver that rises when there is inflammation somewhere in the body.

An estimate of how well your kidneys are filtering blood, calculated from your creatinine.

A protein that stores iron in your body. Ferritin levels are used to estimate your total iron stores.

The protein inside red blood cells that carries oxygen from your lungs to the rest of your body.

A blood test that reflects your average blood sugar level over the past 2–3 months.

Often called 'good' cholesterol because it helps remove other cholesterol from your blood.

Often called 'bad' cholesterol because high levels can build up in artery walls over time.

The average size of your red blood cells.

Small cells that help your blood clot when you cut or injure yourself.

The cells in your blood that carry oxygen. They contain haemoglobin, which does the actual oxygen carrying.

A hormone made by the pituitary gland that tells the thyroid how much thyroid hormone to produce.

A waste product formed when your body breaks down protein. The kidneys filter it out of your blood.

The cells that fight infection and help the immune system respond to illness.