Globulin

Ranges vary from lab to lab (some print 19 to 35, others 24 to 38) because it depends on the albumin method used; use the range printed.

Globulin is not one protein but a group, including antibodies (immunoglobulins), transport proteins and clotting proteins. Most labs do not measure it directly; they subtract albumin from total protein. It gives a rough guide to the amount of antibody and other non-albumin protein in the blood.

It is printed on most liver panels as a calculated figure. Doctors look at it when total protein is unusual and use it as a screen for conditions where antibodies are too high or too low, which may lead on to a protein electrophoresis test.

• Long-term infections or inflammation
• Long-standing liver disease
• Autoimmune conditions
• Blood conditions where one antibody is made in excess
• Dehydration

• Conditions where the immune system makes too few antibodies
• Kidney conditions where protein leaks into the urine
• Some steroid and immune-suppressing medicines
• Poor nutrition

• It is calculated, so any error in albumin or total protein shows up here
• Hydration on the day moves it
• A change of laboratory, and so of albumin method, shifts the calculated value

No fasting needed. Calculated from total protein and albumin on the same sample.

Written by a UK consultant physician. Typical UK adult reference ranges; your laboratory's own printed range takes precedence.