Clinical laboratory

A clinical laboratory or medical laboratory is a laboratory where biological specimens are collected and analyzed. Clinical laboratory testing plays a crucial role in the detection and treatment of disease. Most of these tests are performed by clinical laboratory scientists often called medical laboratorians. Clinical laboratory technologists perform complex chemical, biological, hematological, immunologic, microscopic, and bacteriological tests in order to get information about the health of a patient. The laboratory data are needed to aid in detecting diseases like cancer, heart attacks, diabetes or infectious mononucleosis. A clinical laboratory is usually divided into several disciplines that include: Microbiology, hematology, biochemistry, immunology, serology, histology, cytology, cytogenetics, and virology.