Labs and diagnostics

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.

A mineral that builds bones and teeth and that nerves, muscles, the heart and blood clotting need to work.

Measuring the carbon dioxide in each breath out and showing it as a number and a wave on the monitor.

A gas made by the body's cells as waste, carried in the blood to the lungs and breathed out.

A protein measured in the blood as a tumor marker, mainly to follow colorectal cancer.

A procedure in which a thin tube is threaded through a blood vessel into the heart to take pictures, measure pressures or open blocked arteries.

In urine, a tiny tube-shaped mold of protein, cells or both that formed inside a kidney tubule and was washed out, seen under the microscope.

Cyclic citrullinated peptide: a protein whose antibodies (anti-CCP) are measured in a blood test for rheumatoid arthritis.

A blood test that counts CD4 T cells, the white blood cells that HIV infects and destroys.

The clear, watery fluid that bathes and cushions the brain and spinal cord.

Lab tests on the fluid around the brain and spinal cord, usually collected by lumbar puncture.

An x-ray picture of the chest that shows the lungs, heart, large blood vessels, ribs and diaphragm.

A negatively charged mineral (electrolyte) in the blood that works with sodium to keep fluid and acid-base balance.

X-ray imaging of the bile ducts after contrast is injected into them, to look for stones, a blockage, an injury or the duct anatomy.

A hormone released by the lining of the duodenum when fats and proteins arrive, which makes the gallbladder contract and the pancreas release enzymes.

A waxy fat made by the liver and found in animal foods, which the body uses to build cells and hormones.

A prenatal test that takes a small sample of tissue from the placenta to check the baby's chromosomes and genes.

A blood test for the form of the enzyme creatine kinase found mainly in heart muscle.

Any of the proteins in blood plasma that work together in a chain to form a blood clot.

The process by which blood changes from a liquid into a gel, forming a clot.

A round or oval bacterium; the plural is cocci.

An exam of the inside of the large intestine with a long, flexible tube that has a camera on its end.

A common blood test that counts and measures the red cells, white cells and platelets in the blood.

A microscope that magnifies through two or more sets of lenses, an eyepiece and an objective; the everyday light microscope of the lab.

A group of 14 blood tests that checks blood sugar, electrolytes, kidney function and liver function.

An imaging test that uses x-rays and a computer to make cross-section pictures of the inside of the body.

A dye or other substance given before an imaging test so body parts show up more clearly.

A biopsy that cuts out a thin cylinder (core) of tissue through a large, hollow needle, through the skin or into tissue exposed at surgery.

A steroid hormone made by the adrenal glands that helps control blood sugar, blood pressure, stress and inflammation.

An enzyme found mainly in muscle, measured in the blood to look for muscle damage.

A waste product of muscle that the kidneys remove from the blood; its blood level is used to measure how well the kidneys work.

A measure of how much blood the kidneys clear of creatinine each minute, used to estimate kidney filtering.

Computed tomography angiography: a CT scan with IV contrast dye that shows blood vessels in detail.

A lab test that grows the germs from a sample to identify them and see which antibiotics work against them.

The study of cells, or a lab test that looks at cells under a microscope.