Diagnostic specialties

• Clinical laboratory sciences are the clinical diagnostic services which apply laboratory techniques to diagnosis and management of patients. In the United States these services are supervised by a Pathologist. The personnel that work in these medical laboratory departments are technically trained staff, each of whom usually hold a medical technology degree, who actually perform the tests, assays, and procedures needed for providing the specific services.
  • Transfusion medicine is concerned with the transfusion of blood and blood component, including the maintenance of a "blood bank".
  • Cellular pathology is concerned with diagnosis using samples from patients taken as tissues and cells using histology and cytology.
  • Clinical chemistry is concerned with diagnosis by making biochemical analysis of blood, body fluids and tissues.
  • Hematology is concerned with diagnosis by looking at changes in the cellular composition of the blood and bone marrow as well as the coagulation system in the blood.
  • Clinical microbiology is concerned with the in vitro diagnosis of diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
  • Clinical immunology is concerned with disorders of the immune system and related body defenses. It also deals with diagnosis of allergy.
• Radiology is concerned with imaging of the human body, e.g. by x-ray, x-ray computed tomography, ultrasonography, and nuclear magnetic resonance tomography.
  • Interventional radiology is concerned with using imaging of the human body, usually from CT, ultrasound, or fluoroscopy, to do biopsies, place certain tubes, and perform intravascular procedures.
  • Nuclear Medicine uses radioactive substances for in vivo and in vitro diagnosis using either imaging of the location of radioactive substances placed into a patient, or using in vitro diagnostic tests utilizing radioactive substances.