CLINICAL LAB SCIENEC

GLOSSARY 447
Bunsen burner Single-flame gas heating device
Buret pipette Quantitative pipette with a valve to
start and stop flow of solution for extremely
accurate measurement; used primarily for titration
Calcium ions Factor in blood clotting; released from
the bone into the bloodstream
Capillary action Rise or fall of liquid in a small
passage or tube; caused by surface tension when a
liquid comes in contact with a solid
Capillary pipette Similar to a capillary tube with the
exception that a capillary pipette has markings or
lines of demarcation indicating an approximate
amount
Capillary puncture Procedure where small vessels of
the finger, toe, or heel are pricked for small blood
samples
Capillary tube Used to contain a small amount of
blood that is centrifuged to enable an estimate of
whole blood versus plasma for the hematocrit test
Carpel tunnel syndrome Repetitive strain injury that
can be caused by long-term manual pipette operation
Causation Causal relationship between conduct and
the result derived from that conduct
Caustic Corrosive or burning; destroys body tissue
on contact
Celsius International temperature scale on which
water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) Federal agency under the Department
of Health and Human Services charged with
protecting public health and safety
Centimeter Metric measure of length equaling onehundredth
of a meter
Centrifuge Device that spins samples to separate
components based on differences in density
Cephalic vein Superficial vein just beneath the skin
of the middle inner part of the bend of the arm
(elbow); used for phlebotomy procedures
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Fluid that circulates
within the brain’s ventricles and spinal column to
maintain uniform pressure
Certification Verifies a fact or condition, usually
by examination, such as the ability to perform a
profession
Chief executive officer (CEO) Top officer in an
organization who has the highest decision-making
power
Class A The higher standard of volumetric flask as
determined by the United States or equivalent;
made with a more accurately placed graduation
mark and has a unique serial number for
traceability. Class B or equivalent containers
are used for more qualitative analyses or for
educational work
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of
1967 (CLIA 67) Federal legislation to improve the
practice of laboratory medicine
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of
1988 (CLIA 88) Federal legislation modifying and
superseding CLIA 67
Clinical Laboratory Management Association
(CLMA) Professional organization for laboratory
managers
Clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) Equivalent to a
medical technologist (MT)
Clinical laboratory technician (CLT) Equivalent to a
medical laboratory technician (MLT); a technical
worker in a medical laboratory who is supervised
by a CLS (MT)
Clinical pathologist See anatomic (or clinical)
pathologist
Clinical significance Test result that has relevance
to a patient’s condition based on a medical
professional’s judgment regarding that particular
patient
Clinically normal people People whose test results are
deemed normal because they fall within acceptable
standard deviations
Clinitest Test performed by tablet in semiquantitative
determination for reducing substances in urine or
feces
Clotting time Amount of time that elapses before
whole blood forms a clot; a test that measures the
amount of time for a fibrin clot to form
Coagulation Change from a liquid to a viscous,
thickened state; the clotting process of blood
Coagulation factors Thirteen factors in the blood
responsible for the process of blood clotting
Coefficient of variation (CV) Variability of test results
expressed in percentage form when the mean value
is divided by the standard deviation
College of American Pathologists (CAP) Professional
organization supporting M.D. and O.D. pathologists
Colorimetric Term describing clinical chemistry tests
in which a color develops that can be measured
Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health
Education Programs (CAAHEP) Accrediting
organization for allied health education programs
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