Question

A serum or plasma specimen from a patient with severe lipemia would visibly appear ________?

1) Yellow
2) Cloudy
3) Clear
4) Red

Answer 1

A serum or plasma specimen from a patient with severe lipemia would appear cloudy due to a high concentration of lipids in the blood.

Step-by-step explanation:

A serum or plasma specimen from a patient with severe lipemia would visibly appear cloudy. Lipemia is the presence of a high concentration of lipids in the blood, which can interfere with various laboratory tests. When lipids are present in high concentrations, they can cause the serum or plasma to become turbid, hence its cloudy appearance.

This is distinctly different from other conditions such as jaundice, where the accumulation of bilirubin gives the skin and mucous membranes a yellowish color, or hemolytic anemia, where a blood sample may show red blood cells with antibodies attached, potentially altering the color of the serum or plasma.