Reading your results
Blood Test Abbreviations: What Every Letter on Your Report Means
Reviewed by a qualified clinician · analysed at UKAS-accredited UK labs (ISO 15189)
Last reviewed August 20267 min read
Every Helvy guide is written by our health editors, then checked by a qualified clinician before it goes live and re-checked as the science moves. We name clinical roles, not individuals, until each reviewer has agreed to be credited publicly. This is wellness guidance to help you understand your own data, not a diagnosis.
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Most UK blood test reports use a short code for each marker. Hb is haemoglobin, WBC is white blood cells, ALT is a liver enzyme, U&E is urea and electrolytes, and eGFR estimates how well your kidneys filter. An H or L beside a number simply means it sat above or below your lab’s range.
Find the test that measures your markers →You open the NHS App, tap your results, and get a wall of capital letters. MCHC. GGT. Non-HDL. Nobody explains them. This page is the decoder: what each code stands for, what it measures, and which ones are worth a second look.
1. Why is your report written in code?
Because it was written for a clinician, not for you. Lab reports are built to be read fast by someone who already knows the vocabulary. A GP scanning forty results wants Hb, not haemoglobin concentration.
The codes are mostly stable across UK labs, but not perfectly. One trust prints ALT, another prints SGPT for the same enzyme. Some group tests under a heading such as LFT or U&E and list the parts underneath.
So treat the tables below as a translation, not a rulebook. If your report uses a code you cannot find here, the safest move is to ask the practice what it stands for.
2. What do the full blood count letters mean?
The full blood count, or FBC, is the block of codes most people recognise. It counts and measures the cells in your blood. It is usually the longest section of the report.
| CODE | STANDS FOR | WHAT IT MEASURES |
|---|---|---|
| Hb / HGB | Haemoglobin | The oxygen-carrying protein in red cells. Typically 130–170 g/L in men, 120–150 g/L in women |
| RBC | Red blood cell count | How many red cells you have per litre |
| WBC / WCC | White blood cell count | Immune cells. Typically 4–11 x10⁹/L |
| PLT | Platelets | The cell fragments that help blood clot |
| HCT / PCV | Haematocrit | The share of your blood made up of red cells |
| MCV | Mean cell volume | Average red cell size. Typically 80–100 fL |
| MCH | Mean cell haemoglobin | Average haemoglobin per red cell |
| MCHC | Mean cell haemoglobin concentration | How densely packed that haemoglobin is |
| RDW | Red cell distribution width | How much red cell size varies |
| NEUT / LYMPH | Neutrophils, lymphocytes | Two types of white cell, counted separately |
MCV and MCH are the two people ask about most. Together they describe the size and colour of your red cells. Small, pale cells and large cells point in different directions, which is why a clinician reads them next to Hb rather than alone.
The FBC block looks long because most of it is calculated. Only a few values are counted directly. HCT, MCV, MCH and MCHC are all derived from the count and the haemoglobin, which is why they tend to move together. One odd-looking index rarely means much on its own.
Our full blood count guide walks through each line in more detail, including what a raised or low value can reflect.
3. What do LFT and U&E stand for?
LFT means liver function tests. U&E means urea and electrolytes, the standard kidney block. Both are headings rather than single results, so each one has several codes underneath.
| CODE | STANDS FOR | WHAT IT MEASURES |
|---|---|---|
| ALT | Alanine aminotransferase | A liver enzyme. Typically 7–56 U/L |
| ALP | Alkaline phosphatase | An enzyme from liver, bile ducts and bone. Typically 30–130 U/L |
| GGT | Gamma-glutamyl transferase | A liver enzyme sensitive to alcohol and bile flow |
| BIL / TBIL | Bilirubin | A pigment from broken-down red cells |
| ALB | Albumin | The main blood protein. Typically 35–50 g/L |
| TP | Total protein | Albumin plus your other blood proteins |
| Na / K | Sodium, potassium | The salts that control fluid and nerve signalling |
| Ur | Urea | A waste product your kidneys clear |
| Cr / Creat | Creatinine | A muscle waste product, also cleared by kidneys |
| eGFR | Estimated glomerular filtration rate | A calculation of kidney filtering speed. 90 or above is typical |
eGFR trips people up because it is not measured. It is worked out from your creatinine, age and sex. That is why the number can shift slightly between labs using different formulas.
For the detail behind each block, see our liver function test guide and our kidney function guide.
4. What do the cholesterol, sugar and hormone codes mean?
These are the codes people usually came looking for. They cover the lipid profile, blood sugar and the common hormone tests.
| CODE | STANDS FOR | WHAT IT MEASURES |
|---|---|---|
| TC / Chol | Total cholesterol | All cholesterol in your blood. Below 5 mmol/L is the NHS healthy level |
| HDL | High-density lipoprotein | The particle that carries cholesterol away from arteries |
| LDL | Low-density lipoprotein | The particle that deposits cholesterol in artery walls |
| Non-HDL | Non-HDL cholesterol | Total minus HDL. Below 4 mmol/L is the NHS healthy level |
| TG / Trig | Triglycerides | Circulating fat, sensitive to recent meals and alcohol |
| HbA1c | Glycated haemoglobin | Average blood sugar over about three months. Below 42 mmol/mol is typical |
| TSH | Thyroid stimulating hormone | The brain signal that drives your thyroid. Often 0.27–4.2 mIU/L |
| FT4 / FT3 | Free thyroxine, free triiodothyronine | The two thyroid hormones themselves |
| SHBG | Sex hormone binding globulin | The protein that binds testosterone and oestrogen |
| FSH / LH | Follicle stimulating and luteinising hormone | The two pituitary hormones that drive the ovaries and testes |
| CRP | C-reactive protein | A general inflammation marker. Usually below 5 mg/L |
| Ferr / B12 | Ferritin, vitamin B12 | Iron stores and a vitamin needed for red cells and nerves |
Two of these are easy to misread. HbA1c is not your blood sugar today, it is a three-month average. And a lipid panel reported in mmol/L cannot be compared with an American result in mg/dL without converting first.
If the lipid block is the reason you are here, our cholesterol blood test guide explains what each number does and does not tell you.
5. What do H, L and the asterisk mean?
They are position markers, not verdicts. H means the value sat above the reference range. L means below. An asterisk or bold text usually means the same thing, flagged by the lab computer.
The important part is what the range itself represents. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust puts it plainly:
“Reference ranges are conventionally set to give the range of values which would be found in approximately 95% of a statistically ‘Normal’ population.”— Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Laboratory Medicine
Read that again, because it changes how a flag lands. The range covers 95 per cent of a reference population. So roughly one healthy person in twenty falls outside it on any given marker, with nothing wrong at all.
The arithmetic is worth sitting with. A routine panel might report twenty markers. If each has a 1 in 20 chance of falling outside range by chance alone, the odds of at least one flag across the whole report are roughly two in three. Markers are not fully independent, so that is an upper estimate rather than a prediction. The point stands: a lone H is weak evidence of anything.
The reverse also holds. A value can sit inside the range and still be unusual for you, especially if it has drifted a long way from your own baseline. Ranges do not adjust for your age, ethnicity or medication.
That is why the words your GP adds matter more than the flag. We translate those separately in our guide to NHS App results language, and the underlying numbers sit in our UK reference range table.
6. Which of these letters can you test at home?
Many of them, though not all. Helvy panels run on a finger-prick sample, and a few codes above need a full venous tube. Here is the honest split.
What we do not offer is the full blood count itself. Hb, WBC, RBC, PLT, MCV, MCH and RDW are not in any Helvy panel, and neither are GGT, bilirubin, sodium or potassium. If those are the codes you are chasing, your GP is the right route.
A blood test measures biomarkers and offers wellness insight. It does not diagnose a condition. Results are read by a qualified clinician, and anything unexpected belongs with your GP. If tiredness is what brought you here, our energy and fatigue hub gathers the markers most often behind it.
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Every marker comes back with what it measures, where your number sits, and what it means in context. Read by a qualified clinician.
Frequently asked questions
What does MCH mean on a blood test?
MCH stands for mean cell haemoglobin. It is the average amount of haemoglobin inside each red blood cell. It is read alongside MCV, which is average cell size, and your haemoglobin level. A qualified clinician reads the three together rather than one on its own.
What does U&E stand for on a blood test?
Urea and electrolytes. It is the standard kidney block on a UK report and usually contains sodium, potassium, urea and creatinine, plus a calculated eGFR. Some labs print it as U&Es or as renal profile.
What does the H next to my result mean?
It means the value sat above your laboratory’s reference range. L means below it. The flag is generated automatically and is not an interpretation. Because ranges cover about 95 per cent of a healthy population, a single flagged value is common and often unremarkable.
Why do different labs use different abbreviations?
There is no single national standard for report layout. Trusts choose their own local codes and groupings, so ALT may appear as SGPT and haematocrit as PCV. The underlying measurement is the same. Reference ranges also differ slightly between labs, which is why you read your number against your own report.
What is the difference between LFT and GGT?
LFT is the heading for the whole liver block. GGT is one enzyme inside it, and not every practice includes it by default. ALT, ALP, bilirubin, albumin and total protein are the usual components.
Does a normal result mean everything is fine?
Not necessarily. Normal means the value fell inside a range built from a reference population, not that it is ideal for you. Plenty of people feel unwell with results inside range. Symptoms are worth raising with your GP whatever the numbers say.
Related guides
How to Read Your Blood Test Results
The full walkthrough, marker by marker.
Blood Test Reference Ranges UK
The cited table of typical UK ranges.
NHS App Results Language Explained
What satisfactory, borderline and filed actually mean.
Normal Results But Still Feel Ill?
Why in-range does not always mean optimal.
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