Labs and diagnostics

The partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood, measured in a blood gas test.

The partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood: a measure of how much oxygen is dissolved in the blood, from an arterial blood gas.

A screening test in which cells are gently scraped from the cervix and looked at under a microscope.

The study of disease and its causes and effects, or the disease changes found in a person or tissue.

Polymerase chain reaction: a lab method that copies tiny amounts of genetic material so a germ or a gene can be detected.

Blood tests of a drug's highest level after a dose (peak) and its lowest level just before the next dose (trough).

Sterile saline poured into the pelvis at the start of a cancer operation and drawn back, then sent to the lab to be checked for cancer cells.

Tissue fixed in a preservative, usually formalin, and processed onto lasting slides, giving the final pathology diagnosis later.

Picograms per milliliter: a unit for very small amounts of a substance in a fluid.

A blood test that measures how much of the antiseizure drug phenytoin is in the blood.

A mineral in the blood and bones, measured as phosphate, that works with calcium to build bone and supply energy to cells.

A tiny cell fragment in the blood that sticks together at a wound to help form a clot.

A test that measures changes in the volume of a body part, such as a limb swelling slightly with each heartbeat.

An imaging test that uses a small amount of a radioactive tracer to show how active the body's tissues are.

A mineral in the blood that nerves and muscles, including the heart, need in order to work.

The part of an ECG from the start of the P wave to the start of the QRS complex.

The exams, lab work and other tests a patient has before surgery to check that they are healthy enough to have the planned operation safely.

A protein made by the liver, measured in the blood as one marker of protein nutrition.

Blood sugar levels that are higher than normal but not yet high enough to be called diabetes.

A protein measured in the blood whose level rises sharply in response to bacterial infection.

A protein made by the prostate gland, measured in a blood test to screen for and follow prostate problems.

A nutrient made of chains of amino acids that the body uses to build and repair tissue.

More protein in the urine than normal.

A blood test that measures how many seconds it takes a blood sample to form a clot.

Breathing tests that measure how much air the lungs hold and how fast air moves in and out.

A painless test that uses light through a finger, toe or earlobe to estimate how much oxygen the blood is carrying.