Clinical Chemistry Practice Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering clinical chemistry concepts, laboratory methodologies, statistical terms, and biochemical markers based on the Apollon et.al. Review.

Volumetric pipette accuracy

A measurement precision of $1:1000$.

Ostwald-Folin pipette

A pipette with a bulb close to the delivery tip used for measuring viscous fluids.

Etched rings

Markings on the top of a pipette indicating that the last drop is to be blown out after the pipette drains.

Primary standards

Standard solutions from which $99.95\%$ of the chemical can be retrieved.

Saturated solution

A solution in which the molecules of solute are in equilibrium with excess undissolved molecules.

Pure water pH

The acidity or alkalinity of pure water, which is a $pH$ of $7.0$.

Coefficient of variation

The statistical term that most specifically describes analytical precision.

Control material

Material with physical and chemical properties closely resembling the test specimen, used to determine procedure reliability.

Beer's law

A law stating that optical density is directly proportional to the concentration.

Serum vs. Plasma

The primary difference where serum does not contain fibrinogen.

Sodium fluoride

A substance used in specimen collection to prevent glycolysis.

EDTA (Ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid)

An anticoagulant that works by chelating calcium.

Bilirubin determination precaution

The specific requirement to protect the specimen from light.

Lactic dehydrogenase preservation

An enzyme substance that cannot be preserved by freezing.

Diurnal variation

The fluctuation of levels throughout the day, necessitating that serum iron be drawn at the same time on successive days.

Nitrogen

The element in proteins that differentiates them from carbohydrates and lipids.

Glycine

The specific amino acid that cannot rotate polarized light.

Protein Denaturation

An alteration in the tertiary structure of proteins due to mechanical agitation, heat, or chemical treatment.

Refractive index

The ratio of velocities of light in two different media.

Isoelectric point

The specific $pH$ at which a protein possesses a net zero charge.

Svedberg (S) number

Units that refer to protein behavior during ultracentrifugation.

Bence Jones protein

A substance that appears as a precipitate in urine at $60\,^{\circ}C$ and disappears at $100\,^{\circ}C$.

Salting out

The process of separating albumin from globulins using sodium sulfate.

Protein nitrogen conversion factor

The factor of $6.25$ used to convert nitrogen content to protein content.

Chylomicrons

A lipid associated with turbidity in serum; also identified as the lipid with the lowest density.

Glycoproteins

Proteins that are usually bound to galactose and mannose.

Cryoglobulins

Temperature-sensitive proteins in blood specimens that should be allowed to clot at room temperature.

Urease method

A method where urea is enzymatically converted to ammonia.

Jaffe reaction

The classic creatinine reaction based on the formation of a yellow-red color with alkaline picrate.

Lloyd's reagent

An adsorbent used to enhance the specificity of the Jaffe reaction.

Uricase method

An assay for uric acid that depends on an ultraviolet absorption peak at $290\,nm$ before and after treatment.

Inulin clearance

The clearance test that offers the most accurate measure of glomerular filtration.

p-aminohippurate (PAH)

The clearance test providing the best measure of tubular function.

Freezing point depression

The measurement used in the usual determination of osmolality.

Hemoglobin $A_{1}C$

A test that provides a $2$ to $3$ month average of a diabetic's glucose levels.

Hexokinase methodology

A glucose determination method based on reduced coenzyme read at $340\,nm$.

Xylose excretion

A diagnostic measurement helpful in determining intestinal malabsorption.

Ehrlich's reagent

A reagent containing para-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde used to identify porphobilinogen and urobilinogen.

Biological catalyst

The formal definition of an enzyme.

Michaelis-Menten constant

A constant determined by substrate concentration and the rate of dissociation of the enzyme-substrate complex.

Zero order reaction

A reaction state where all enzyme molecules are bound to the substrate.

Lipase

An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of glycerides.

LD-1

The lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme present in the greatest amount in normal heart tissue.

Ceruloplasmin

An alpha-1 globulin responsible for binding copper.

Acid phosphatase optimum pH

The specific acidity required for acid phosphatase activity, which is a $pH$ of $5.0$.

Hollow cathode lamp

The light source used in atomic absorption instrumentation.

Quenching

A disadvantage specifically encountered in fluorometry.

Thyroid-binding globulin (TBG)

The major binding protein for thyroxine (T-4) in plasma.

Aldosterone

The hormone that regulates the reabsorption of sodium in the kidney.

Zimmerman reaction

A determination of 17-ketosteroids based on a reaction with meta-dinitrobenzene.

Friedewald formula

Calculates low density lipoprotein (LDL) as $\text{LDL cholesterol} = \text{TC} - (\frac{\text{TG}}{5} + \text{HDL cholesterol})$.

Sweat chloride test

A diagnostic test useful for identifying cystic fibrosis.