Priya Raman
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Urinalysis: From Dipstick Colours to Microscopy
A urine test is three tests stacked on top of each other, and each layer answers a different question the one before it could not.
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CRP and ESR: Two Very Different Views of Inflammation
One test measures a protein directly and responds within hours; the other watches red cells fall down a tube and lags days behind. They are not…
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Iron Studies: Ferritin, Transferrin and the Inflammation Trap
Ferritin measures iron stores and also rises with inflammation, which is why a normal ferritin can sit on top of genuine iron deficiency and hide it…
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Vitamin D Testing and Why Labs Disagree on Normal
The same blood sample can return meaningfully different vitamin D results depending on which platform measures it, and the cut-off for deficiency is still argued over.
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Kidney Function Testing: Creatinine, eGFR and Cystatin C
eGFR is not measured. It is calculated from creatinine, age and sex, which is why muscle mass and the choice of equation can move the number…
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Liver Enzyme Panels Decoded: ALT, AST, ALP and GGT
Liver enzyme results are a pattern-recognition exercise. Which enzymes rise together, and in what proportion, matters far more than any single flagged value.
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Inside a Thyroid Panel: TSH, Free T4 and Free T3
TSH is not a thyroid measurement. It is the pituitary’s opinion about thyroid output, and understanding that resolves most confusing thyroid panels.
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HbA1c: What Three Months of Glucose Looks Like
HbA1c is described as a three-month average, but recent weeks count far more than older ones, and several common conditions distort it substantially.
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Reading a Lipid Panel Beyond Total Cholesterol
The number most people focus on is the least informative one on the panel, and the LDL value beside it is usually not measured at all…
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What a Complete Blood Count Actually Measures
A complete blood count is three separate examinations printed on one page. Here is what each number counts and which ones carry the most information.
