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Chemistry Description and Guide
Cholesterol/CHOL
Serum cholesterol occurs at high concentration in the esterified form and at much lower
concentration in the free form. Cholesterol is synthesized in the liver and other tissues
and is also absorbed in the free form from the small intestine. It is esterified in the liver
and is the precursor of steroid hormones.
Cholesterol is broken down in the liver to bile acids and eliminated via the bile duct.
Principal reason for performing the test:
As an indicator of hypothyroidism.
Most common abnormality indicated by the test:
Hypothyroidism
Special precautions in sample collection:
Blood should not be drawn within 12 hours of a meal. Remove plasma or serum
promptly from the clot or cells. Heparin and EDTA may be used as anticoagulants for
plasma specimens.
Complementary tests:
Cholesterol measurements should not be performed in isolation but as part of a profile
of tests to investigate endocrine, hepatic, and renal disease. If high cholesterol is found
in the absence of diabetes, hepatic, or renal disease, hypothyroidism may be present.
This can be confirmed by measuring thyroid function.
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