Blood Tests Explained

Every test in our health packages, in plain English — what it measures, what the doctor is looking for, and what can move a result. 38 tests, written to be read before you decide rather than after.

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Blood count and inflammation

The broadest look at what is circulating, and whether anything is inflamed.

Complete Blood CountCounts the red cells, white cells and platelets in your blood — the most informative routine blood test there is.Blood ESRA general marker of inflammation somewhere in the body — sensitive, but not specific to any one cause.Blood

Liver

The panel, then each enzyme and protein inside it. Enzymes say the liver is irritated; albumin and bilirubin say whether it is still doing its job.

Liver Function TestA group of measurements showing whether the liver is inflamed, obstructed, or working normally.Blood ALTThe most liver-specific enzyme on the panel. It rises when liver cells are irritated.Blood ASTA liver enzyme that also comes from muscle, so it is read next to ALT rather than alone.Blood Alkaline PhosphataseAn enzyme from the bile ducts and from bone. A rise points to one or the other.Blood BilirubinThe yellow pigment the liver clears from blood, reported as a total and a direct fraction.Blood AlbuminThe main protein the liver makes. It appears on both the liver and kidney panels, for different reasons.Blood Total ProteinAlbumin plus the antibody proteins — informative mainly for the gap between the two.Blood

Kidney and electrolytes

How well the kidneys are filtering, and whether the body's salts and minerals are in balance.

Kidney Function & ElectrolytesHow well the kidneys are filtering, and whether the body's salts and minerals are in balance.Blood CreatinineThe main measure of how well the kidneys are filtering, and the basis of the eGFR figure.Blood UreaA second waste product the kidneys clear, useful mainly for how it compares with creatinine.Blood SodiumThe salt that governs body water balance — a measure of water, not of how much salt you eat.Blood PotassiumThe electrolyte that matters most to heart rhythm — acted on the same day when far outside range.Blood ChlorideRead beside sodium to work out the body's acid balance rather than for its own sake.Blood CalciumA bone, nerve and muscle mineral, controlled by the parathyroid glands and vitamin D.Blood PhosphateHandled alongside calcium, and one of the first things to move as kidney function falls.Blood

Cholesterol and blood fats

The fats carried in your blood, and what each one contributes to heart risk.

Lipid ProfileThe fats in your blood — total cholesterol, LDL, HDL and triglycerides — used to estimate cardiovascular risk.Blood LDL CholesterolThe fraction that deposits into artery walls, and the number treatment aims at.Blood HDL CholesterolCarries cholesterol away from artery walls. Here, higher is generally better.Blood TriglyceridesA separate blood fat that responds fast to sugar, alcohol and weight.Blood Total CholesterolAll the cholesterol in your blood added together — too crude to act on by itself.Blood

Blood sugar

One snapshot and one three-month average — they answer different questions.

HbA1cYour average blood sugar over about three months — the test that identifies diabetes and prediabetes.Blood Blood SugarA snapshot of the sugar in your blood at the moment the sample was taken.Blood

Vitamins, iron and minerals

The deficiencies that most often sit behind tiredness, hair shedding and aching.

Vitamin DMeasures your vitamin D level — deficiency is very common in the UAE despite the sunshine.Blood Vitamin B12A vitamin the body cannot make, needed for nerves and for producing red blood cells.Blood FerritinMeasures your iron stores — the earliest sign of iron deficiency, well before anaemia appears.Blood IronThe iron circulating in your blood right now, read alongside ferritin rather than on its own.Blood MagnesiumA mineral involved in muscle, nerve and heart function, often low without obvious symptoms.Blood

Hormones

Thyroid, and the sex hormones measured when energy, periods or fertility change.

Thyroid TestChecks whether your thyroid is running fast, slow or normally — the gland that sets your metabolic pace.Blood TestosteroneThe main male hormone, measured when energy, libido, mood or muscle mass have changed.Blood ProlactinA pituitary hormone measured when periods are irregular or absent, or fertility is a question.Blood

Joints, gout and the gut

Targeted tests, ordered when there is a specific question to answer.

Uric AcidThe waste product behind gout, which also travels with blood pressure and kidney problems.Blood Rheumatoid FactorAn antibody associated with rheumatoid arthritis — supporting evidence rather than a diagnosis.Blood H. pylori TestLooks for the stomach bacterium behind most stomach ulcers, from a stool sample rather than a scope.Stool

Beyond blood

A urine sample, a heart tracing and a cuff on the arm — none needs a needle.

Urine TestScreens a urine sample for infection, blood, protein and sugar — findings the blood tests would miss.Urine ECGRecords the heart's electrical activity through stickers on the skin — no needle, about five minutes.No sample needed Blood PressureA cuff on the arm, about a minute — the simplest test on the panel and one of the most consequential.No sample needed

Medical note. These pages explain what a test measures. They are not a diagnosis and they carry no reference ranges — those differ by laboratory, age and sex, and a result is read alongside your history by a DHA-licensed doctor.