What it means
Any small amount of body material sent to a lab, such as blood, urine, sputum, stool, wound drainage or a tissue biopsy. How it is collected matters: a clean-catch urine, a culture taken before antibiotics, a sputum sample from deep in the lungs first thing in the morning. A specimen that is mislabeled, contaminated or sent late can give a false result.
For the nurse
Label the specimen at the bedside in front of the client, with two identifiers, the date, time and source. Use the right container, gloves and technique, and send it to the lab within the required time or store it as directed.
At a glance
| Spanish | muestra |
|---|---|
| Also written | specimens |
Related terms
Pap test
A screening test in which cells are gently scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope.
sterile
Free of all living microorganisms; also, unable to have children.
contamination
The presence of germs or harmful substances on something that should be clean or sterile.