Labs and diagnostics

A hormone released by stretched heart muscle that makes the kidneys remove sodium and water and relaxes the blood vessels.

Nerve conduction study: a test that measures how fast and how strongly electrical signals travel along a nerve.

A lower than normal number of neutrophils, the white blood cells that fight bacterial infection first.

The most common type of white blood cell, which is first to reach and destroy bacteria at a site of infection.

Testing of every newborn for serious hidden conditions, using a few drops of blood from the heel plus hearing and heart checks.

Nanograms per milliliter: a unit for very small amounts of a substance in blood or another fluid.

A prenatal test that records the fetal heart rate for about 20 to 40 minutes to see how it changes when the baby moves.

A blood test for a protein the heart's ventricles release when they are stretched, used in the diagnosis and follow-up of heart failure.

The specialty that uses radioactive materials to diagnose and treat disease, by tracing the radiation they give off inside the body.