Peripheral blood smear, also called blood film, is a widely used technique to analyze the morphology ofblood cells(Figure 1). Here, a very thin blood film is produced (Figure 2) and subjected to staining for microscopic analysis of the cells. Commonly used staining techniques includeGiemsa, Romanowsky, and Wright's stain.

Figure 1:Example blood smear stained withGiemsa.

Figure 2:Steps to create a peripheral blood smear.