PLAINCARE

Blood Test Sections Explained: CBC, Liver, Lipids, Kidney and More

Updated Aug 2026 · Reading time: 6 minutes

Your report looks like a wall of abbreviations, but it's actually organized — into sections. Each section checks a different system of your body. Learn the five main sections, and any report becomes readable in 30 seconds.

Section 1: CBC (complete blood count)

Your blood cells, counted and measured. This is the most common panel on any report.

Key markers

WBC (white blood cells) — your immune cells. Mildly high after an infection or a cold, mildly low after a virus. Either way, often temporary.
RBC (red blood cells) and hemoglobin — your oxygen carriers. Slightly low is common, especially for women, and usually means diet, menstruation, or a mild deficiency worth discussing — not an emergency.
Platelets — your clotting cells. Mild swings are very common; big or persistent changes are the ones to ask about.

Section 2: Liver panel

Enzymes and proteins that show how your liver is doing.

Key markers

ALT and AST — enzymes that leak into blood when liver cells are irritated. Mildly high is extremely common (alcohol, fatty liver, medications, even a hard workout). Read the full guide to high ALT.
GGT, ALP, bilirubin — the rest of the liver-and-bile team. Read together with ALT and AST, not in isolation.

Section 3: Lipids (cholesterol panel)

Fats in your blood — linked to long-term heart health, not to how you feel today.

Key markers

LDL ("bad" cholesterol — lower is better), HDL ("good" cholesterol — higher is better), and triglycerides (very sensitive to what you ate in the days before the test). Cholesterol numbers, fully explained.

Section 4: Kidney panel

How well your kidneys filter waste.

Key markers

Creatinine — a waste product your kidneys should clear. Mildly high is often dehydration or muscle mass, not kidney disease. eGFR — an estimate of filtration rate, calculated from your creatinine. What high creatinine really means.

Section 5: Blood sugar

How your body handles glucose.

Key markers

Fasting glucose — a snapshot; one mildly high reading is not a diabetes diagnosis. HbA1c — a 3-month average, and the more reliable of the two. Fasting glucose 7.1 mmol/L — should you worry?

How to read any section in 30 seconds

Step 1 — Scan the flag column:Ignore the raw numbers at first. Which lines are marked H / L / ↑ / ↓?
Step 2 — Group the flags:Are they in one section (a pattern) or scattered (likely noise)? A pattern is a conversation with your doctor; a lone mild flag is usually a retest.
Step 3 — Ask one question:"Which of these actually matters for me right now?" For the full method, see how to read your blood test results step by step.

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