If blood is anticoagulated before centrifugation, what does it separate into?

When blood is anticoagulated before centrifugation, it separates into plasma and cellular components. Anticoagulants prevent the blood from clotting, allowing for the separation of the liquid component (plasma) from the cellular elements, which include red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Plasma is the clear, yellowish fluid that remains after the cells have settled out, and it contains water, electrolytes, proteins, hormones, and waste products. The distinction between plasma and serum is important; serum is derived from clotted blood and does not contain clotting factors, while plasma includes these factors due to the anticoagulation.

Thus, the correct identification of the separation products when blood is anticoagulated before centrifugation is plasma and cellular components, confirming that the answer involving plasma is accurate.