The care of any seriously ill patient’s fluid and electrolyte balance is crucial. The most common biochemical profile is the measurement of serum sodium, potassium, urea, and creatinine, often with bicarbonate, and it provides a…
Creatinine in the blood is produced by the spontaneous breakdown of creatine and creatine phosphate. Its production and release into body fluids happen at a consistent rate and are proportional to muscle mass. As a…
Urea (urea nitrogen) is the main component of NPN material in blood; it is distributed throughout the body water and has equal concentrations in intracellular and extracellular fluid. Gross changes in NPN are usually caused…
At least 8 million Americans are affected by kidney disease. Kidney failure kills more people per year than colon cancer, breast cancer, or prostate cancer combined. Chronic kidney disease or kidney failure raises a patient’s…
The final breakdown product of purine nucleoside metabolism is uric acid. Gout, increased catabolism of nucleic acids, and renal disease are three main disease states associated with elevated plasma uric acid. Chemotherapy causes renal damage…
The type of urine specimen collected and the method of collection are determined by the test requested. The following are the five most common forms of urine specimens. Some body fluids can also be tested…
Urine is produced by the filtration of blood by the kidney’s nephrons. Blood reaches the kidney via the renal artery and travels to the glomerulus via small capillaries. Solute and water are filtered through the…
Blood glucose determination is one of the most common tests conducted in the clinical chemistry laboratory. Glucose is a monosaccharide formed from the degradation of carbohydrates in the diet. Carbohydrate absorption occurs in the small…
A basic tenet of tumor immunology is that when a normal cell transforms into a malignant cell, it produces specific antigens not found in mature normal cells. A tumor marker, such as a hormone or…
