ABSTRACT
In the beginning, laboratory testing was limited to few basic analytes of body ¯uids to aid in the diagnosis of a patient’s condition by a physician. e required testing was carried out in the physician’s o°ce. Once the causative agent and etiology of diseases were understood, new diseases emerged that required new remedies. New test methods were developed to measure the newly discovered drugs and their metabolites. Some drugs were found to be toxic at higher doses. is required measuring drug levels in body ¯uids and establishing therapeutic windows for eective treatment. It became necessary to develop new test methods with state-of-the-art instruments, qualiˆed technologists to conduct the testing, and experienced and qualiˆed forensic toxicologists to manage the laboratory and to interpret the results. It became necessary to move the testing from a doctor’s o°ce to a central location. us, central clinical laboratories emerged. Now, a physician obtains a patient’s body ¯uids in the o°ce and sends them to a laboratory or sends the patient to a central laboratory where the body ¯uids are obtained and analyzed. Recent developments include a pneumatic tube system whereby body ¯uids obtained from patients on a hospital ¯oor can be sent directly to the laboratory. e body ¯uids are analyzed and the results are promptly sent to the ordering physician, or put in a computer so that the ordering physician can access the results immediately.
