Laboratories: Our Essential Address for a Healthy Life

With the tests performed on a single tube of blood, you can get your health report card.

Laboratories perform hundreds of tests, especially for enzymes, as markers of cellular damage in diseased tissues or organs. The degree of the disease causes significant changes in the blood level of the enzyme. For this reason, by measuring appropriate tests in the blood, important information is obtained about the diseased organ or tissue, and about the cause, degree and extent of the disease. The results obtained from laboratory tests provide the physician with great benefits in check-up programs, in the prevention of diseases, in differential diagnosis, in carrying out the most appropriate treatment, in the effectiveness of treatment, and in monitoring the disease.

A large number of chemical, biological, hematological and immunological tests are performed, and bacteria, fungi, parasites and other microorganisms are detected through various analyses and cultures. Many materials and devices are used in clinical laboratories to perform these tests. Complex and numerous laboratory procedures that were previously performed manually (by hand) are now carried out reliably on devices called autoanalyzers, thanks to the increasing use of automation and computer technology. With these automated devices, dozens of tests can be performed quickly using very little blood. The quality of laboratory tests has increased, as errors and variability in results have been eliminated. Many biological specimens are used, such as blood, urine, stool, saliva, sweat, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid and other body fluids, as well as solid tissues taken from the patient. These specimens must be collected under the standardized conditions determined by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS). Except in emergencies, it is recommended that blood and urine samples be given in the morning after 8–10 hours of fasting. Laboratories are configured with sterilization and infection control measures appropriate for safely working with infectious specimens. For this reason, hospital laboratories are generally organized into departments of clinical biochemistry, hematology, microbiology, serology and endocrinology, depending on the tests they perform and the devices and specimens they use. Test methods are continuously modified and developed, as are the variety and technology of the devices in these departments. Clinical laboratory specialist physicians continuously monitor and evaluate the accuracy of the tests performed through both internal and external quality programs. The concentrations of routine and specific proteins, hormones, enzymes and other chemical compounds are measured for every type of disease, from cancer to diabetes; the results are evaluated, approved, and reported in the most appropriate way and offered to patients.