Laboratory Tests (Print Version)

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Laboratory Tests

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/laboratorytests.html

If you've ever had to give a tube of blood or a little cup of urine in your doctor's office, you've had a laboratory test. Laboratory tests check a sample of your blood, urine or body tissues. A technician or your doctor analyzes the test samples to see if your results fall within the normal range. The tests use a range because what is normal differs from person to person. Many factors affect test results. These include

Your sex, age and race
What you eat and drink
Medicines you take
How well you followed pre-test instructions

Your doctor may also compare your results to results from previous tests. Laboratory tests are often part of a routine checkup to look for changes in your health. They also help doctors diagnose medical conditions, plan or evaluate treatments, and monitor diseases.

Start Here

Interpreting Laboratory Test Results(National Cancer Institute) - http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/laboratory-tests
Lab Tests(Center for Devices and Radiological Health) - http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/oivd/consumer-lab.html
Understanding Your Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/index.html

Overviews

Asking Questions about Medical Tests(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/cc/cc020508.htm
Common Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/testtips/commontests.html
Directory of Medical Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest2.html

Latest News

Spit Proteins Could Lead to Oral Cancer Test(10/01/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69908.html
Online-Mediated Syphilis Testing Shows Promise(09/16/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69321.html
Blood Sugar Test May Also Aid Diabetes Detection(08/07/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67913.html
Scientists Develop Sensitive Salivary Sensor(08/01/2008, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research) - http://www.nih.gov/news/health/aug2008/nidcr-01.htm
More News on Laboratory Tests http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_l.html#laboratorytests

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Reference Ranges & What They Mean: The "Normal" or Reference Range(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/ref_ranges.html

Prevention/Screening

Screening Tests for Adults (Ages 30-49)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/d_adult_1.html
Screening Tests for Young Adults (Ages 19-29)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/c_youngadult1_1.html

Coping

Coping with Test Pain, Discomfort, and Anxiety(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/coping.html
Test Preparation: Your Role(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/test_prep.html
Tips on Blood Testing(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/testtips/bloodtips.html

Specific Conditions

Basic Blood Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest5.html
Blood Culture(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/blood_culture/test.html
BMP (Basic Metabolic Panel)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/bmp/glance.html
Complete Blood Count(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cbc/test.html
Comprehensive Metabolic Panel(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/cmp/glance.html
Electrolytes Test(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/electrolytes/test.html
JAMA Patient Page: Frozen Section Biopsy(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/294/24/3200.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/data/294/24/3200/DC1/1
Lumbar Puncture (Spinal Tap)(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/lumbar_puncture.html
Stool Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest8.html
Testing in the Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory(American Heart Association) - http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/115/24/e624
Urine Tests(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/labtest7.html

Related Issues

Helping You Identify Quality Laboratory Services(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/GeneralPublic/Choices/hc_lab.htm
Home-Use Tests(Center for Devices and Radiological Health) - http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/oivd/consumer-homeuse.html
How Reliable Is Laboratory Testing?(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/reliability-2.html
Lab Oversight: A Building Block of Trust(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/lab/labquality.html
Pathologist(American Society for Clinical Pathology) - Links to PDF - http://www.ascp.org/pdf/ThePathologist.aspx
Reference Ranges & What They Mean(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/features/ref_ranges.html
Where Lab Tests Are Performed(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/lab/labtypes.html

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Hematologic Tests(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Hematologic+Tests%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Urinalysis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Urinalysis%22

Research

Point-of-Care Diagnostic Testing(National Institutes of Health) - Links to PDF - http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/PointofCare.pdf
Salivary Diagnostics(National Institutes of Health) - Links to PDF - http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/SalivaryDiagnostics.pdf

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Sleep apnea tests get comfortable. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18792448&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Interactive, culturally sensitive education on colorectal cancer screening. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18725832&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Implementing an intervention to promote colon cancer screening through e-mail... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18725823&tool=MedlinePlus
Laboratory Tests -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(diagnostic+tests,+routine[mh]+OR+diagnostic+techniques+and+procedures[majr:noexp])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+systematic[sb])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Glossary(Center for Devices and Radiological Health) - http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/oivd/consumer-glossary.html
Index of Glossary Terms(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/map/gindex.html

Directories

Accredited Laboratory Directory(College of American Pathologists) - http://www.cap.org/apps/cap.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=accrlabsearch_page
Laboratory Directory-GeneReviews(University of Washington) - http://www.genetests.org/servlet/access?id=8888891&key=xW0l31Z2a4hTc&fcn=y&fw=XPF9&filename=/labsearch/searchdztest.html

Children

Screening Tests for Children (Ages 2 to 12)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/b_children_1-2.html
Screening Tests for Infants(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/ab_infant_1.html
Screening Tests for Newborns(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/a_newborn_1.html
Tips to Help Children through Their Medical Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/testtips/kidtips.html

Teenagers

Screening Tests for Teens (Ages 13-18)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/c_teen_1.html

Women

Screening Tests during Pregnancy(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/conditions/pregnancy.html

Seniors

Screening Tests for Adults (50 and Up)(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/wellness/e_over50_1.html
Tips to Help the Elderly through Their Medical Tests(American Association for Clinical Chemistry) - http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/testtips/elderlytips.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Diagnostic Imaging - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diagnosticimaging.html
Diagnostic Tests - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diagnostictests.html

Laboratory Tests - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/laboratorytests.html

Date last updated: October 02 2008

Topic last reviewed: June 13 2008