Inflammation blood tests
Inflammation markers rise when the body is responding to infection, injury or an autoimmune process.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-16
What does the Inflammation measure?
These tests measure markers such as CRP, ESR and procalcitonin that increase with inflammation.
Why is the Inflammation ordered?
They are ordered to gauge whether inflammation is present and to follow its course over time.
Tests in this panel
Each test links to its own page with named reference-range sources.
Sources: [ICSH] [WHO] [ESCMID] [IDSA] [ACR/EULAR] [ACR] [EULAR]
- ESRESR measures how fast your red blood cells sink to the bottom of a tube in one hour. Faster settling can reflect certain proteins in your blood.
- CRPCRP is a protein your liver makes when the body signals inflammation. Its level climbs fast and high during widespread inflammation or infection.
- ProcalcitoninProcalcitonin is a substance the body makes in response to bacterial infection. It rises with bacteria but barely moves with plain viral illness.
- Rheumatoid FactorRheumatoid factor is a self-directed antibody, mistakenly binding the tail end of other antibodies made by your immune system. This reaction appears more often in certain autoimmune and long-term inflammatory conditions.
- ANAANA are antibodies that target parts inside the cell nucleus. Their presence and staining pattern can hint at the kind of autoimmune process.
Questions to ask your doctor
About this result
- What do my Inflammation results mean when you read them together, rather than one value at a time?
- Which results in my Inflammation matter most for someone like me?
What to do next
- Based on my Inflammation, is there anything you would suggest I do or change?
About retesting
- Should any part of my Inflammation be repeated, and if so, when?
The bigger picture
- Does my Inflammation connect to any condition I already have, or to how I have been feeling?
Frequently asked questions
- What is included in the Inflammation?
- These tests measure markers such as CRP, ESR and procalcitonin that increase with inflammation. It typically reports 5 results: ESR, CRP, Procalcitonin, Rheumatoid Factor, ANA.
- Why is the Inflammation ordered?
- They are ordered to gauge whether inflammation is present and to follow its course over time.
- How should the Inflammation be read as a whole?
- No single value tells the full story — the results are read together, and each value is compared against the reference range printed on your own report, which can vary by lab, method and equipment.
- Do the reference ranges in the Inflammation vary between labs?
- Yes. Ranges depend on the laboratory's equipment and method, so the range printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result. Each test page names the standards body behind its range.
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