A blood test is a lab analysis of things that may be found in your blood. You may have blood tests to keep track of how well you are managing a condition such as diabetes or high cholesterol. You may also have them for routine checkups or when you are ill.

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Blood tests can give your healthcare provider a lot of information. He or she can see if certain elements in your blood are in a normal range. But in many cases, blood tests are only part of the information your healthcare provider needs to make a diagnosis of a health condition. You might need to have some other types of tests as well.