Among the many items that would be considered general lab equipment are pipettes, scales, centrifuges, Bunsen burners, freezers, hot plates, incubators, coolers, stirrers, water baths, and fume hoods - to name a few.
Instrument list
| Instrument | Uses |
|---|
| Glass slide mycole and cover slips | in microscopy, serology, etc. as the solid backing on which test samples are taken |
| Petri dish | used for preparation of culture media and the culture of organisms they are in |
| Glass beaker | reagent storage |
| Glass flask | gastric acid, or other fluid titration |
A similar measure to MCH is something doctors call "mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration" (MCHC). MCHC checks the average amount of hemoglobin in a group of red blood cells. Your doctor may use both measurements to help in a diagnosis of anemia.
Product description. Chemistry analyzers can be benchtop devices or placed on a cart; other systems require floor space. They are used to determine the concentration of certain metabolites, electrolytes, proteins, and/or drugs in samples of serum, plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and/or other body fluids.
Common Lab Tests
- Complete Blood Count. This test, also known as a CBC, is the most common blood test performed.
- Prothrombin Time. Also known as PT and Pro Time, this test measures how long it takes blood to clot.
- Basic Metabolic Panel.
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel.
- Lipid Panel.
- Liver Panel.
- Thyroid Stimulating Hormone.
- Hemoglobin A1C.
Recommended finger: the World Health Organisation recommends the middle or ring fingers are used for blood glucose tests (second and third fingers).
You may feel a slight pricking or scratching sensation as the needle goes in, but it shouldn't be painful. If you don't like needles and blood, tell the person who is taking the sample so they can make you more comfortable.
With certain blood tests, you may be instructed to fast for up to eight hours before your appointment. Fasting before a blood draw means you don't eat or drink anything except water. Don't wait until the day of your blood draw to ask if you should fast.
Blood tests can be used for many different things, including to check cholesterol and blood glucose levels. These help monitor your risk of heart and circulatory diseases and diabetes, or how your condition is being managed. Tests for different chemicals and proteins can indicate how your liver or kidneys are working.
Blood used for certain molecular genetic tests can remain stable for many days, with a wide range of acceptable temperature. DNA remains stable at room temperature for up to a month, but because live blood cells begin dying within two days, samples should be cultured or frozen in liquid nitrogen for future use.
How to Test Your Blood Sugar at Home
- Wash and dry your hands well.
- Insert a test strip into your meter.
- Prick the side of your fingertip with the lancet provided with your test kit.
- Gently squeeze or massage your finger until a drop of blood forms.
- Touch and hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood.
If the test requires whole blood (e.g., a complete blood count), the sample can be analyzed directly without further processing. In most cases, an instrument, appropriately called a blood analyzer, analyzes the blood sample. In this picture, the tube of blood is being placed directly into the machine.
Special biochemical tests
- Zinc (urine or semen)
- Lactate dehydrogenase isoenzymes (LDH-ISO)
- Alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes (ISO-ALP)
- Creatine phosphatase isoenzymes (ISO-CPK)
- Sweat conductivity test (to diagnose cystic fibrosis - CF)
- Copper (blood and urine)
Lack of informed consent in clinical testingIn many cases, such as trauma or overdose, explicit consent is not possible. However, even when substance abuse is suspected and the patient is able to provide consent, clinicians often order drug testing without the patient's knowledge and consent.
The complete blood count (CBC) is a group of tests that evaluate the cells that circulate in blood, including red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets (PLTs). The CBC can evaluate your overall health and detect a variety of diseases and conditions, such as infections, anemia and leukemia.
10 health conditions that can't be diagnosed by blood tests
- DEMENTIA: It's not your blood that gives the game away.
- PARKINSON'S DISEASE: Again it is the symptoms — the shaking, stiffness and general slowing up — that make the diagnosis.
- MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS): You'll probably end up having blood taken but that is to check for other problems which can look like MS.
Your doctor can order urine or blood tests to check for:
- chlamydia.
- gonorrhea.
- hepatitis.
- herpes.
- HIV.
- syphilis.
The urinalysis is a set of screening tests that can detect some common diseases. It may be used to screen for and/or help diagnose conditions such as a urinary tract infections, kidney disorders, liver problems, diabetes or other metabolic conditions, to name a few.
Prostate-specific antigen test
| Marker | Associated cancers | Test |
|---|
| Beta-2-microglobulin (B2M) | Multiple myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and some lymphomas | Blood, urine, spinal fluid |
| Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (Beta-hCG) | Choriocarcinoma and germ cell tumors | Urine or blood |
| CA15-3/CA27.29 | Breast cancer | Blood |
Out of the 5 liters of blood in your body, even 3-5 full vials are a safe quantity and unsubstantial, so don't worry! This ensures that enough samples are available for back-up in case some samples are compromised. It also allows for any confirmatory tests that may be needed after the initial tests.
Complete Metabolic Panel and Complete Blood CountThese are two blood tests that are always ordered at a primary care yearly physical and offer a lot of information. They are essential to understanding a person's electrolyte and hydration status, kidney function, liver function, and blood cell values.
Do drugs show up in routine blood tests? A toxicology test (“tox screen”) would need to be performed to show the presence of drugs or other chemicals in your blood. A tox screen can be used to check for one specific drug or up to 30 drugs at once.
physical and visual examination
- auscultation.
- autopsy.
- biopsy.
- bronchoscopy.
- cardiac catheterization.
- colposcopy.
- Dick test.
- endoscopy.
