Dictionary

Labs and diagnostics

Lab values with their normal and critical ranges, and the tests nurses prepare clients for.

samplingTaking a small part of something, such as blood or tissue, or choosing a group of people for a study.

saturationHow full something is; in nursing, usually the percentage of hemoglobin in the blood that is carrying oxygen.

scrapingA sample of cells collected by gently scraping a surface such as the skin, or the act of collecting it.

screeningTesting people who have no symptoms to find a disease or risk early.

screening testA test given to people who have no symptoms, to find a disease or risk early.

sensitivityHow strongly something responds; in lab work, which drugs stop a germ, or how well a test finds people who have a disease.

serumThe clear, yellow liquid left from blood after it clots and the cells are removed.

serum ironA blood test that measures the amount of iron carried in the blood.

serum ketonesA blood test for ketones, acids the body makes when it burns fat for energy instead of sugar.

serum osmolalityA blood test that measures how concentrated the blood is, by the amount of dissolved particles in it.

sinus rhythmA heart rhythm that starts in the sinoatrial node, the heart's natural pacemaker.

smearA thin layer of a sample, such as blood or cells, spread on a glass slide to be looked at under a microscope.

sodiumA mineral in the blood that controls how water moves in the body and helps nerves and muscles work.

specimenA sample of blood, urine, stool, tissue or other body material collected for testing.

SPECTSingle-photon emission computed tomography: a nuclear medicine scan that makes 3D pictures using a small dose of a radioactive tracer.

spirometerA device that measures how much air a person breathes in or out, and how fast.

sputumMucus and other material coughed up from the lungs and lower airways.

sputum cultureA lab test that grows germs from mucus coughed up from the lungs, to find out which germ is present.

steeple signA tapered narrowing of the upper airway below the vocal cords that looks like a church steeple on a front-view neck x-ray.

stool cultureA lab test that grows germs from a stool sample to find the bacteria causing an infection.

sweat chloride testA test that measures the amount of chloride in sweat collected from the skin.