1. Prothrombin time (PT) is a blood test that measures how long it takes blood to clot.

A
prothrombin time test can be used to check for bleeding problems. PT is also used to check
whether medicine to prevent blood clots is working.

A PT test may also be called an INR test. INR (international normalized ratio) stands for a way of
standardizing the results of prothrombin time tests, no matter the testing method. It lets your
doctor understand results in the same way even when they come from different labs and
different test methods. In some labs, only the INR is reported and the PT is not reported.

blood clotting factors are needed for blood to clot (coagulation). Prothrombin, or factor II, is one
of the clotting factors made by the liver. Vitamin K is needed to make prothrombin and other
clotting factors. Prothrombin time is an important test because it checks to see if five different
blood clotting factors (factors I, II, V, VII, and X) are present. The prothrombin time is made
longer by:

Blood-thinning medicine, such as warfarin.

Low levels of blood clotting factors.

A change in the activity of any of the clotting factors.

The absence of any of the clotting factors.

Other substances, called inhibitors, that affect the clotting factors.

An increase in the use of the clotting factors.

2. Blood type O is the universal donor because it has no A or B antigens on its RBC membranes.
This means that people with blood types A, B, and AB have no antibodies to reject type O. Blood
type AB is the universal recipient because it contains no antibodies, and therefore will not reject
any of the other blood types regardless of its antigens

The immune system develops antibodies for the antigens it lacks. People with blood type A have
an antibody against blood type B, and vice versa. People with blood type AB have no antibodies,
so they can accept any type of blood. People with blood type O have antibodies for types A and
B.

3. agglutination is a sensitive method for the detection of antibody because much less antibody is
required to agglutinate particles containing antigenic patches on their surfaces than is needed to
aggregate antigens in free solution. This chapter provides an overview of agglutination and
fiocculation. It discusses direct hemagglutination and indirect hemagglutination. The slide
agglutination technique provides a simple and rapid means of determining blood groups. The
method is most frequently employed in ABO and Rh grouping. The procedure may be carried
out on microscope slides, large glass plates, or white porcelain or plastic tiles. The chapter
reviews slide agglutination and tube agglutination. The cell-counting assay method of Wilkie and
Becker makes possible the quantitative estimation of hemagglutinin activity and describes the
course of the reaction as a curve that relates agglutination response to concentration of
hemagglutinins. The chapter explains inhibition of hemagglutination by antibodies and
antibody-like reagents in semi-quantitative tube tests. It further discusses bacterial
agglutination, immobilization of motile bacteria by anti-flagellar antibody, agglutination of
spermatozoa, agglutination with antigen on inert particles.