Laboratory Medicine

Laboratory Medicine is the general term used to define all of the medical specialties represented in a laboratory that performs diagnostic testing for human medicine. It is the branch of medicine concerned with determining the nature of diseases and predicting their course through analysis of body tissues and fluids. The following divisions make up the major medical activities of diagnostic laboratories:

Anatomic Pathology

Anatomic Pathology performs autopsies and analyzes and tests all types of tissue in order to diagnose cancer and a wide variety of other diseases that affect the major organs of the human body.
Pathologists are experts who examine tissue specimens taken from patients during surgery or by biopsy in order to make a diagnosis.

Cytopathology

Cytopathology specializes in the analysis of cells in order to determine if they are malignant or not.
Cytotechnologists and pathologists examine cell preparations such as Pap smears to diagnose early signs of cancer.

Chemistry and Toxicology

Chemistry measures the level of a large number of analytes in a patient’s blood such as glucose, sodium, potassium, chloride and carbon dioxide as an electrolyte panel.
The proper function of most major organs in the body may also be analyzed by special tests that measure chemical substances, enzymes and/or hormones put out into the blood.
Toxicology detects a large number of foreign substances and toxins in blood, body fluids and urine in cases of suspected poisonings or overdoses.

Hematology

Hematology analyzes all types of cells manufactured by the bone marrow including red cells and hemoglobin, white blood cells and platelets.
Tests that monitor the function of the blood’s ability to clot are also performed here.
Bone marrow is analyzed for diseases such as leukemia.

Transfusion Medicine

Transfusion Medicine performs all of the tests that ensure that the right type of blood or blood products are given a patient.
The laboratory closely matches the recipient’s blood type with the donor’s unit(s) so that a major immune reaction will not occur when the patient is transfused.

Microbiology

Microbiology performs all of the tests to diagnose a wide variety of infections.
Tests are performed to detect most of the types of bacteria, fungi, parasites and viruses that commonly cause human infectious diseases. For example, throat swabs are cultured to detect Strep throat, and urine is cultured to determine if a urinary tract infection is present. Stool specimens are cultured to detect bacteria that might cause enteric infection and are analyzed for worms or other parasites. Appropriate swabs are also analyzed to determine if someone has a sexually transmitted disease. Blood smears are examined to diagnose Malaria, and blood cultures are examined to detect bacteremia.
Medical microbiologists and technologists with special expertise in the various areas are employed here.