Clinical Laboratory

Clinical Laboratory is a specialized facility where various types of medical tests are performed by trained professionals, known as clinical laboratory scientists or medical technologists. These tests are designed to provide information about the health of a patient as pertaining to the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.

Overview

A clinical laboratory is a facility for the biological, microbiological, serological, chemical, immunohematological, hematological, biophysical, cytological, pathological, or other examination of materials derived from the human body for the purpose of providing information for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of any disease or impairment of, or the assessment of the health of, human beings.

Types of Clinical Laboratories

There are several types of clinical laboratories, including:

• Hospital laboratories: These are usually attached to a hospital and perform tests on patients.
• Reference laboratories: These perform specialized tests that are not usually done in the routine clinical laboratory.
• Public Health laboratories: These laboratories perform tests related to public health, such as testing for the presence of diseases in a community.

Clinical Laboratory Tests

Clinical laboratory tests are typically categorized into three major areas:

• Clinical chemistry: These tests measure the chemical substances in body fluids like blood and urine.
• Hematology: These tests focus on blood cells and include complete blood counts, coagulation tests, and blood films.
• Microbiology: These tests identify infectious agents like bacteria, viruses, and fungi.

Clinical Laboratory Professionals

The professionals who work in clinical laboratories include:

• Clinical laboratory scientists: They perform complex tests and laboratory procedures.
• Medical laboratory technicians: They perform routine tests under the supervision of a clinical laboratory scientist.
• Pathologists: They are physicians who interpret and diagnose the changes caused by disease in tissues and body fluids.

See Also

• Medical laboratory
• Pathology
• Clinical pathology
• Medical test