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Medical laboratory

Medical laboratory is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Medical laboratory rather than just read about it. In short: A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens (e.g. Blood, urine, stool, sputum and other body tissues) to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

Medical laboratory — main illustration
Medical laboratory — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Medical laboratory belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Medical laboratory to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Medical laboratory from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens (e.g. Blood, urine, stool, sputum and other body tissues) to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. Clinical medical laboratories are an example of applied science, as opposed to research laboratories that focus on basic science, such as found in some academic institutions. Medical laboratories vary in size and complexity and so offer a variety of testing services. More comprehensive services can be found in acute-care hospitals and medical centers, where 70% of clinical decisions are based on laboratory testing. Doctors offices and clinics, as well as skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, may have laboratories that provide more basic testing services. Commercial medical laboratories operate as independent businesses and provide testing that is otherwise not provided in other settings due to low test volume or complexity.

Departments In hospitals and other patient-care settings, laboratory medicine is provided by the Department of Pathology and Medical Laboratory, and generally divided into two sections, each of which will be subdivided into multiple specialty areas. The two sections are:

Anatomic pathology: areas included here are histopathology, cytopathology, electron microscopy, and gross pathology. Medical Laboratory or clinical pathology, which typically includes the following areas: Clinical microbiology: This encompasses several different sciences, including bacteriology, virology, parasitology, immunology, and mycology. Clinical chemistry: This area typically includes automated analysis of blood specimens, including tests related to enzymology, toxicology and endocrinology. Hematology: This area includes automated and manual analysis of blood cells. It also often includes coagulation. Blood bank involves the testing of blood specimens in order to provide blood transfusion and related services. Molecular diagnostics DNA testing may be done here, along with a subspecialty known as cytogenetics. Reproductive biology testing is available in some laboratories, including Semen analysis, Sperm bank and assisted reproductive technology. Layouts of clinical laboratories in health institutions vary greatly from one facility to another. For instance, some health facilities have a single laboratory for the microbiology section, while others have a separate lab for each specialty area. The testing in the laboratory is traditionally categorized by the clinical purpose of the test, which determines how the test should be used throughout the spectrum of diagnosis and care. There are four major categories namely screening tests, diagnostic tests, monitoring tests and follow-up tests.

Screening tests are offered to the asymptomatic people to reveal possible diseases. On the contrary, diagnostic tests are used to prove or disapprove certain conditions. To follow the course of the disease or the reaction to treatment, monitoring tests are presented. Lastly, there are tests during the follow-up to determine the results following treatment. The following is an example of a typical breakdown of the responsibilities of each area:

Microbiology includes culturing of the bacteria in clinical specimens, such as feces, urine, blood, sputum, cerebrospinal fluid, and synovial fluid, as well as possible infected tissue. The work here is mainly concerned with cultures, to look for suspected pathogens which, if found, are further identified based on biochemical tests. Also, sensitivity testing is carried out to determine whether the pathogen is sensitive or resistant to a suggested medicine. Results are reported with the identified organism(s) and the type and amount of drug(s) that should be prescribed for the patient. Parasitology is where specimens are examined for parasites. For example, fecal samples may be examined for evidence of intestinal parasites such as tapeworms or hookworms. Virology is concerned with identification of viruses in specimens such as blood, urine, and cerebrospinal fluid. Hematology analyzes whole blood specimens to perform full blood counts and includes the examination of blood films. Other specialized tests include cell counts on various bodily fluids. Coagulation testing determines various blood clotting times, coagulation factors, and platelet function. Clinical biochemistry commonly performs dozens of different tests on serum or plasma. These tests, mostly automated, includes quantitative testing for a wide array of substances, such as lipids, blood sugar, enzymes, and hormones. Toxicology is mainly focused on testing for pharmaceutical and recreational drugs. Urine and blood samples are the common specimens. Immunology/Serology uses the process of antigen-antibody interaction as a diagnostic tool. Compatibility of transplanted organs may also be determined with these methods. Immunohematology, or blood bank determines blood groups, and performs compatibility testing on donor blood and recipients. It also prepares blood components, derivatives, and products for transfusion. This area determines a patient's blood type and Rh status, checks for antibodies to common antigens found on red blood cells, and cross matches units that are negative for the antigen. Urinalysis tests urine for many analytes, including microscopically. If more precise quantification of urine chemicals is required, the specimen is processed in the clinical biochemistry lab. Histopathology processes solid tissue removed from the body (biopsies) for evaluation at the microscopic level. Cytopathology examines smears of cells from all over the body (such as from the cervix) for evidence of inflammation, cancer, and other conditions. Molecular diagnostics includes specialized tests involving DNA and RNA analysis. Cytogenetics involves using blood and other cells to produce a DNA karyotype. This can be helpful in cases of prenatal diagnosis (e.g. Down's syndrome) as well as in some cancers which can be identified by the presence of abnormal chromosomes. Surgical pathology examines organs, limbs, tumors, fetuses, and other tissues biopsied in surgery such as breast mastectomies.

Medical Laboratory Staff

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Medical laboratory: Clinical laboratory in a hospital setting showing several automated analysers.
Clinical laboratory in a hospital setting showing several automated analysers.
Medical laboratory: A clinical pathology laboratory technician processing blood samples and laboratory specimens in Navi Mumbai, India, following modern workflow implementation standards.[5]
A clinical pathology laboratory technician processing blood samples and laboratory specimens in Navi Mumbai, India, following modern workflow implementation standards.[5]
Medical laboratory: Laboratory equipment for hematology (black analyser) and urinalysis (left of the open centrifuge).
Laboratory equipment for hematology (black analyser) and urinalysis (left of the open centrifuge).
Medical laboratory: Clinical laboratory in a hospital setting with two technologists shown.
Clinical laboratory in a hospital setting with two technologists shown.
Medical laboratory: Laboratoire de La Muette, medical laboratory in Paris
Laboratoire de La Muette, medical laboratory in Paris

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Medical laboratory

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Medical laboratory claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Medical laboratory before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Medical laboratory ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Medical laboratory

In research
Medical laboratory appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Medical laboratory in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Medical laboratory is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Clinical pathology, Laboratory types, Medical diagnosis, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Medical laboratory outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Medical laboratory in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Medical laboratory means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Medical laboratory out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Medical laboratory in simple terms?

A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are conducted out on clinical specimens (e.g. Blood, urine, stool, sputum and other body tissues) to obtain information about the health of a patient to aid in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

Why does Medical laboratory matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Medical laboratory?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Medical laboratory.

Tags

  • Clinical pathology
  • Laboratory types
  • Medical diagnosis

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