Labs and diagnostics

A mineral in the blood that the nerves, muscles and heart need, measured with a blood test.

An imaging test that uses a strong magnet and radio waves to make detailed pictures of the inside of the body.

An x-ray picture of the breast, used to screen for and look into breast cancer.

Something that can be measured, such as a substance in the blood, that shows a disease or body process is present.

The average pressure in the arteries over one heartbeat, used as a measure of how well blood reaches the organs.

The average size of a person's red blood cells, reported as part of a complete blood count.

Milliequivalent: a unit for the amount of an electrolyte, based on its electrical charge.

A state in which the blood is too acidic because the body has too much acid or has lost too much bicarbonate.

An acid-base imbalance in which the blood holds too much bicarbonate, so its pH rises above 7.45.

Milligrams per deciliter: a unit that shows how much of a substance is in one tenth of a liter of blood or fluid.

A urine test for small amounts of the protein albumin, usually reported as the urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio.

The study of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites; also the lab that tests for them.

Millimeters of mercury: the unit used to measure blood pressure and the pressure of gases in the blood.

Millimole: a unit for an amount of a substance, often given per liter of blood (mmol/L) in lab results.

The largest white blood cell, which leaves the blood for the tissues and grows into a macrophage that eats germs and debris.

Milliosmole: a unit for the number of dissolved particles in a fluid, used for osmolality.

An X-ray or CT image of the spinal cord and nerve roots made after contrast medium is injected into the subarachnoid space.

Myoglobin, a pigment from broken-down muscle, in the urine, which turns it brown or tea colored.

Micromoles per liter: a unit for how much of a substance is in a liter of fluid, used on many lab reports.