CLINICAL LAB SCIENEC

384
ESSENTIALS OF CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
In the Lab
Electrolyte
Normal Values
Potassium (K + )
3.5–5.0 mEq/L
3.5–5.0 mmol/L (for International Units)
Sodium (Na + )
135–145 mEq/L
135–145 mmol/L (for International Units)
Chloride (Cl )
98–108 mEq/L
98–107 mmol/L (for International Units)
Carbon dioxide (CO 2
) (Bicarbonate) 22–29 mEq/L
22–29 mmol/L (for International Units)
mEq/L, milliEquivalents per liter; mmol/L, millimoles/liter
Summary
Tests performed in the chemistry department of a laboratory can reveal a great
deal of information regarding a patient’s health. Any organ or any system of the
body that is not functioning adequately due to a metabolic, carcinogenic, or infectious
disease process will yield valuable clues toward providing the medical diagnosis
of the patient. A set of chemical determinations will enable the physician to
use the results for a diagnosis, even when symptoms and signs may be absent.
Most chemistry panels, which are a set of specialized tests designed to diagnose
any number of conditions, are normally performed with large automated
systems that may produce hundreds of results per hour with a high degree of
accuracy. The chemistry procedures in this chapter should aid the clinical laboratory
student in understanding the basic process of measuring samples and
reagents. The manual techniques performed in the classroom laboratory prepare
the student to understand the functions of large automated systems when performing
clinical work within large laboratories.
Review Questions
1. Describe two basic ways in which clinical chemistry procedures are performed.
2. What is the purpose of a standard?
3. Why is it important to be aware of the quality control values?
4. In your opinion, how would the use of dirty cuvettes (in which the reaction
takes place) affect the values obtained?
5. Briefly discuss the technological process from single analyses to the development
of multichannel autoanalyzers that perform many tests in a short period.
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.