Labs and diagnostics

A test in which all the urine a person makes over 24 hours is saved in one container for measurement.

The number of neutrophils, the white blood cells that fight bacterial infection, in a set amount of blood.

The body's control of how acidic or alkaline the blood is, keeping its pH in a narrow normal range.

Describes bacteria with a waxy cell wall that keep a red stain even after an acid-alcohol wash, as the germ of tuberculosis does.

A state in which the blood is more acidic than normal, with a pH below 7.35.

A blood test that measures, in seconds, how long it takes blood to clot through one pathway of the clotting system.

A hormone from the pituitary gland that tells the adrenal glands to make cortisol.

A microorganism that lives and grows where there is oxygen; an obligate (strict) aerobe cannot grow without it.

An enzyme found mostly in the liver, measured in the blood as a test of liver cell health.

The main protein in blood plasma, made by the liver, which holds fluid inside the blood vessels and carries drugs and hormones.

An enzyme made mostly in the liver and bones, measured with a blood test.

A state in which the blood is less acidic than normal, with a blood pH above 7.45.

A protein made by the fetal liver, measured in a pregnant person's blood as a screening test, and in adults as a tumor marker.

A waste product of protein breakdown that the liver normally changes into urea; its blood level is measured in a lab test.

A test in which a needle is put through the belly into the uterus to take a sample of amniotic fluid.

An enzyme made mainly by the pancreas and salivary glands that breaks down starch; its blood level is a lab test.

A microorganism that grows without oxygen; an obligate anaerobe is killed by oxygen, and a facultative one grows with or without it.

A lower than normal number of red blood cells or amount of hemoglobin in the blood.

An imaging test that shows blood vessels by injecting a contrast dye and taking x-ray, CT or MRI pictures.

A number calculated from blood electrolytes, sodium minus chloride and bicarbonate, that helps find the cause of metabolic acidosis.

A blood test that measures how strongly heparin or a similar drug is blocking clotting factor Xa.

A natural protein in the blood that slows clotting, also made into a medicine.

A blood test from an artery that measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, bicarbonate and the blood's pH.

A measure of how acidic or alkaline the blood in an artery is, reported on an arterial blood gas.

Puncture of a joint with a needle to draw out fluid, to test it or to relieve pressure.

An enzyme found mainly in the liver, heart and muscles, measured in the blood as part of liver function tests.

A hearing test that measures how loud sounds of different pitches must be for the person to hear them.

A hormone released by the heart's lower chambers when they are stretched, measured with a blood test.

A value on an arterial blood gas that shows how much more or less base (buffer) the blood holds than normal.

A group of eight blood tests that check blood glucose, electrolytes, calcium and kidney function.

The least common type of white blood cell, which releases histamine during allergic and inflammatory reactions.

A base in the blood that balances acid; the kidneys control it, and its level is measured on blood gas and chemistry tests.

An informal short form of bilirubin, as in "bili level" or "bili lights."

A yellow pigment made when old red blood cells break down, which the liver clears into bile.

Taking a small sample of tissue from the body so it can be looked at under a microscope.

A quick bedside ultrasound that measures how much urine is in the bladder.

A test of how much alcohol is in the blood, given as a percentage or in mg/dL.

The hospital department that types, crossmatches, stores and issues blood and blood products for transfusion.

Any of the cells carried in the blood: red cells, white cells or platelets.

A test in which blood is placed in bottles and watched to see whether bacteria or fungi grow from it.

The amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood at the time it is measured.

The group a person's blood belongs to, based on markers on the red blood cells: A, B, AB or O, and Rh positive or negative.

A blood test that measures urea nitrogen, a waste product made when the body breaks down protein.

Body mass index: a number worked out from a person's weight and height that sorts weight into categories.

A low-dose x-ray test that measures how much mineral is in the bones, usually at the hip and lower spine.

A procedure in which a thin, lighted tube with a camera is passed through the nose or mouth to look inside the airways.

The blood urea nitrogen value divided by the creatinine value, used to help find the cause of a change in kidney tests.

A mobile x-ray unit shaped like a C, with the x-ray tube at one end and the image intensifier at the other, used for fluoroscopy in the OR.

A protein made by the liver whose blood level rises when there is inflammation somewhere in the body.

A blood test for cancer antigen 125, a protein used as a tumor marker for ovarian cancer.