Laboratories
X-Ray Laboratories, Laboratories - Analytical, Laboratories - Dental, Laboratories - Testing,
Magnetic Resonance Imaging, MRI, Medical Labs
Napa Valley, San Francisco North Bay, Ca. USA

conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories.

A medical laboratory or clinical laboratory is a laboratory where tests are done on biological specimens in order to get information about the health of a patient.

In many countries, there are two main types of labs that process the majority of medical specimens. Hospital laboratories are attached to a hospital, and perform tests on patients. Private (or community) laboratories receive samples from general practitioners, insurance companies, and other health clinics for analysis. These can also be called reference laboratories where more unusual and obscure tests are performed.

X-rays are especially useful in the detection of pathology of the skeletal system, but are also useful for detecting some disease processes in soft tissue. Some notable examples are the very common chest X-ray, which can be used to identify lung diseases such as pneumonia, lung cancer or pulmonary edema, and the abdominal X-ray, which can detect ileus (blockage of the intestine), free air (from visceral perforations) and free fluid (in ascites). In some cases, the use of X-rays is debatable, such as gallstones (which are rarely radiopaque) or kidney stones (which are often visible, but not always). Also, traditional plain X-rays pose very little use in the imaging of soft tissues such as the brain or muscle. Imaging alternatives for soft tissues are computed axial tomography (CAT or CT scanning), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound. Since 2005, X-rays are listed as a carcinogen by the U.S. government.

A dental laboratory is a light manufacturing facility for the production of dental restorations on the order of a dentist. Dental laboratories may make dentures, crowns, or other dental restorations such as implant crowns.

Also See:

Laboratory Equipment & Supplies