Hyponatremia the underlying cause of hyponatremia. A blood test demonstrating a serum sodium less than 135 mmol/L is diagnostic for hyponatremia. The history and physical exam are necessary to help determine if the patient is hypovolemic, euvolemic, or hypervolemic, which has important implications in determining the underlying cause. An assessment is also made to determine if the patient is experiencing symptoms from their hyponatremia. These include assessments of alertness, concentration, and orientation. False hyponatremia, also known as spurious, pseudo, hypertonic, or artifactual hyponatremia is when the lab tests read low sodium levels but there is no hypotonicity. In hypertonic hyponatremia, resorption
Serum (blood) Serum (blood) In blood, the serum () is the component that is neither a blood cell (serum does not contain white blood cells- leukocytes, or red blood cells- erythrocytes), nor a clotting factor; it is the blood plasma not including the fibrinogens. Serum includes all proteins not used in blood clotting and all the electrolytes, antibodies, antigens, hormones, and any exogenous substances (e.g., drugs and microorganisms). The study of serum is serology. Serum is used in numerous diagnostic tests, as well as blood typing. Measurements of serum concentrations has proved useful in many fields including clinical trials of therapeutic vs