The main difference between serum and plasma

Serum and plasma are different substances, and the presence or absence of fibrinogen is the main difference between the two. The functions of serum and plasma are also different. Let me briefly introduce their two functions. Serum can be used to test blood type, and plasma can be used for patients with extensive burns. Let us now take a look at the specific introduction of serum and plasma and the specific differences between serum and plasma.

The difference between serum and plasma is whether or not it contains fibrinogen.

Plasma: The whole blood that leaves the blood vessels is anticoagulated and then centrifuged to obtain a liquid free of cell components, which is plasma.

Serum: The liquid released after the blood in vitro coagulates through the shrinkage of the blood clot is serum.

Roughly speaking, the difference between serum and plasma is that serum does not contain fibrinogen.

Fibrinogen can be converted into fibrin, which has a coagulation effect.

Plasma is generally used by patients with extensive burns, while serum can be used to test blood type.

The following content is for reference:

serum. The light yellow transparent liquid that is separated out from blood coagulation.

If blood is extracted from a blood vessel and placed in a test tube without adding an anticoagulant, the coagulation reaction is activated and the blood rapidly coagulates to form a jelly.

Sludged blood shrinks, and its light yellow transparent liquid separated out around is serum, also can be obtained by centrifuging after blood coagulation.

During the coagulation process, fibrinogen is converted into fibrin clots, so there is no fibrinogen in serum, which is the biggest difference from plasma.

During the coagulation reaction, platelets release many substances and various coagulation factors also change.

These compositions are all remained in serum and continue to change, as prothrombin becomes thrombin, and gradually decrease and even disappear with the serum storage time. These are also the differences from plasma.

However, a large amount of substances that do not participate in the coagulation reaction are basically the same as plasma.

To avoid interference from anticoagulants, analyses of many chemical components in the blood use serum as samples.

plasma. Equivalent to the intercellular matrix of connective tissue. It is an important component of blood and is a light yellow liquid (because it contains bilirubin).

The functions of plasma protein include: maintaining plasma colloidal osmotic pressure; constituting the blood buffer system and participating in maintaining the acid-base balance of blood; transporting nutrients and metabolic substances. Plasma protein is a hydrophilic colloid, and many substances that are poorly soluble in water combine with it to become substances that are easily soluble in water; nutritional function. The amino acids produced by the decomposition of plasma protein can be used to synthesize tissue proteins or oxidatively decompose to supply energy; and participating in coagulation and immune effects. The inorganic salts in plasma mainly exist in ionic state, with the total amount of positive and negative ions being equal, maintaining electrical neutrality.