Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
differential blood count

differential blood count

5.2
A test that counts each type of white blood cell in a small blood sample
  • noun
  • /ˌdɪf.əˈrɛn.ʃəl blʌd kaʊnt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : recuento diferencial de glóbulos blancos
  • The doctor ordered a differential blood count to check for signs of infection.

Examples

  • A differential blood count revealed an increased number of lymphocytes.

  • The laboratory technician completed a differential blood count as part of the routine examination.

  • The doctor ordered a differential blood count for further analysis.

  • Can you explain what a differential blood count shows?

  • The doctor ordered a differential blood count to check for signs of infection.

  • A differential blood count revealed an increased number of lymphocytes.

  • The laboratory technician completed a differential blood count as part of the routine examination.

Surface Forms

differential blood count singular
differential blood counts plural

Morphology

differential + blood + count

The phrase is largely compositional: 'blood count' suggests a tally of elements in the blood and 'differential' indicates that the tally is broken down by differences or types, so a learner could infer it means counting each type of blood cell. However, the modifier 'differential' is somewhat technical and the specific focus on white blood cell types and laboratory-testing context is specialized vocabulary, so the exact medical sense may not be fully predictable for a B1 learner.

Etymology

The term differential blood count comes from a simple lab image: a technician looks at a drop of blood on a slide and counts each kind of white blood cell separately, like sorting different colored beads. So, differential and blood count together mean a blood test that shows how many of each 'white blood cell' type there are.