🐼🧑‍⚕️9.18 Panda Base VH X SU MedSchool: What are We really seeing in a blood smear?

Why Machines Still Can’t Beat the Microscope

Blood smears are necessary for analyzing cell morphology and it’s something automated machines can’t do. In lab diagnostics, I rely on smears to detect changes machines miss.

A stained blood smear provides critical data. It’s the gold standard for identifying hematologic disorders: anemia, platelet diseases, hereditary conditions, and blood-borne parasites. It’s also a key tool for validating the performance of automated analyzers.

We also count cells—eosinophils, basophils, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes—under the microscope. From these, we calculate differential percentages in the white blood cell population. We then compare these values to established hematological baselines—such as those from the giant panda—to make precise diagnostic assessments.