Clinical Diagnosis and Management by Laboratory Methods

Part 1 The clinical laboratory: the clinical laboratory: organization, purposes and practice; physician office laboratories; principles of instrumentation; interpreting laboratory results: reference values and decision making; informatics, imaging and the pathologist's workstation; quality management. Part 2 Clinical chemistry: evaluation of renal function, water, electrolytes, acid-base balance, and blood gases; metabolic intermediates and inorganic ions; carbohydrates; lipids and dyslipoproteinemia; specific proteins; assessment of liver function; clinical enzymology; polymerise chain reaction in early detection and monitoring of cancer; cell biology and early tumour detection; evaluation of endocrine function; toxicology and therapeutic drug monitoring. Part 3 Urine and other body fluids: basic examination of urine; cerebrospinal, synovial, and serous body fluids; clinical application of human chorionic gonadotropin; examination of amniotic fluid; andrology laboratory and fertility assessment; laboratory diagnosis of gastrointestinal tract and exocrine pancreatic disorders. Part 4 Haematology, coagulation, and transfusion medicine: basic examination of blood; haematopoiesis; erythrocytic disorders; leucocytic disorders; blood platelets; blood coagulation and fibrinolysis; immunohematology; transfusion medicine. Part 5 Immunology and immunopathology: overview of the immune system; immunoassays and immunochemistry; laboratory evaluation of the cellular immune system; laboratory evaluation of immunoglobulin function and humeral immunity; complement and kinins: mediators of inflammation; cytokines and cell adhesion molecules; human leucocyte antigen (HLA): the major histocompatibility complex of human and transplantation immunology; the major histocompatibility complex and disease; immunodeficiency disorders; clinical and laboratory evaluation of systemic rheumatic diseases; vasculitis; organ-directed autoimmune diseases; allergic diseases; diagnosis and management of cancer using serologic tumour markers. Part 6 Medical microbiology: viral infections; chlamydial, rickettsial and mycoplasmal infections; medical bacteriology; in vitro testing of antimicrobial agents; spirochaete infections; micobacteria; mycotic diseases; medical parasitology; specimen collection and handling for diagnosis of infectious diseases. Part 7 Molecular pathology: molecular pathology: an introduction; molecular diagnostics: basic principles and techniques; establishing a molecular diagnostic laboratory; molecular genetics of haematopoietic neoplasm. (Part contents).