Final answer:
True or false: Serum specimens can be remixed after centrifugation. The answer is False. Remixing serum after centrifugation can contaminate the sample and compromise test results.
Step-by-step explanation:
In medicine, particularly in the context of clinical laboratory processes, serum specimens should not be remixed after centrifugation. The proper procedure involves centrifugation to separate the serum from the rest of the blood components. Once this separation has occurred, remixing could potentially contaminate the serum with the cellular elements that were previously separated, compromising the accuracy of any diagnostic tests run on the serum sample.
Serum is the liquid fraction of blood that remains after blood has clotted and the clot has been removed by centrifugation. It is distinct from plasma, which is the cell-free liquid portion that can be obtained from blood that has been prevented from clotting using an anticoagulant. Serum is used in medical diagnostics to measure concentrations of proteins, hormones, electrolytes, antibodies, and other analytes. It is critical that the integrity of serum samples is maintained to ensure accurate results.