Glossary of German blood test and health terms

Plain explanations of the terms you meet on a German lab report or at the practice. Each entry answers one question in a sentence, then gives the detail.

Blood test basics

DifferentialblutbildThe Differentialblutbild is the part of a blood test that splits your white blood cells into their five types: Neutrophile, Lymphozyten, Monozyten, Eosinophile and Basophile. The pattern between them helps a doctor tell a bacterial infection from a viral one or an allergy.

Großes BlutbildA großes Blutbild is a blood test that counts and describes your blood cells: red blood cells, platelets and all five types of white blood cells. It contains around 18 values, and nothing else.

Kleines BlutbildA kleines Blutbild is the basic blood count. It contains eight values: red blood cells, haemoglobin, haematocrit, the red cell measures MCV, MCH and MCHC, platelets, and white blood cells as one total number.

NüchternblutabnahmeA Nüchternblutabnahme is a blood draw done on an empty stomach, usually after 8 to 12 hours without food. Water is fine. It matters for values like blood sugar and blood fats, not for the blood count itself.

ReferenzbereichThe Referenzbereich is the range printed next to each blood value on your lab report. It shows where the values of most healthy people fall. It is lab-specific, and it is an orientation, not a verdict.

Costs and insurance

Check-up 35The Check-up 35 is the preventive health exam paid by the gesetzliche Krankenkasse: once between 18 and 34, then every three years from age 35. It includes a talk, a physical exam, and a blood test for cholesterol and blood sugar.

IGeL-LeistungAn IGeL-Leistung is a medical service you pay for yourself because the gesetzliche Krankenkasse does not cover it. IGeL stands for individuelle Gesundheitsleistung. A großes Blutbild without a medical reason is a typical example.

Female health

PCOSPCOS, the polyzystische Ovarialsyndrom, is one of the most common hormonal conditions in women of childbearing age, affecting roughly 1 in 10. Typical signs are irregular periods, raised male hormones and many small follicles on ultrasound.

WechseljahreThe Wechseljahre are the years in which a woman's body slowly ends its fertile phase. Hormone levels change step by step, usually between the mid 40s and mid 50s, and the last period comes on average around age 51.

Male health

TestosteronmangelTestosteronmangel means the body makes too little testosterone. In men it is only a real deficiency when clear symptoms and repeatedly low values in morning blood samples come together, not when a single value looks low.

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