VET201 Homework Assignment 1 - Introduction to the Clinical Laboratory

A Comprehensive collection of practice questions and answers derived from the Intro to Clinical Laboratory homework assignment, covering safety, equipment maintenance, microscopy, dilutions, and quality control.

Which type of controls mandate the correct use of hazardous chemicals within a veterinary hospital?

Administrative

What documents provided by manufacturers of all hazardous materials must be readily available to employees at every veterinary facility?

Material safety data sheets

The accidental ingestion of the organism toxoplasmosis is an example of a safety hazard in which biosafety level?

II

Which laboratory specimen is considered a Category B infectious material?

Blood specimen for feline heartworm evaluation

What is the best use for a sink in a veterinary hospital laboratory?

To rinse, drain, or stain specimens and discard fluids

What is the best determinant of a high-quality Internet site for diagnostic research?

The site is unbiased and staffed by recognized experts in the field.

What specific item should be included in a minimally equipped laboratory for a small animal hospital?

Refractometer

What is a disadvantage of a horizontal centrifuge head?

Excessive heat buildup due to air friction at excessive speeds can damage specimens.

Which style of centrifuge has drilled holes that hold test tubes and runs at high speeds without causing excessive heat buildup that can damage specimens?

Angled centrifuge head

What laboratory instrument must be used to determine the total protein concentration of plasma?

Refractometer

How often should a veterinary technician clean and calibrate the laboratory refractometer?

Clean after every use and calibrate daily

Which reading can be obtained quickly using a refractometer for a dog with urinary incontinence?

Specific gravity

What is the best type of pipette to use to move a noncritical amount of liquid from one tube to another?

Transfer

Which size pipette should be chosen to transfer $1.6\,ml$ of fluid?

$$2\,ml$$

What is the optimal temperature for a laboratory incubator to grow most pathogens?

$$37^\circ C$$

Which type of water bath is the best option if the hospital wants one that doesn’t require racks and takes little maintenance?

Waterless bead

Which type of microscope is an essential piece of laboratory equipment for a hospital laboratory?

Compound light

What is the total magnification of an organism viewed with a $10\times$ ocular lens and a $40\times$ objective?

$$400\times$$

What is the ideal reason for a practice to maintain two microscopes?

One is used to perform routine parasite studies, and the other is used for hematology and cytology evaluations.

What is the total magnification of an object viewed with a $10\times$ ocular lens and a $100\times$ objective?

$$1,000\times$$

Which type of objective lens is best for most veterinary hospitals?

Achromatic

What is the best choice of microscope for a busy hospital that wants to take images and put them directly into a patient’s digital chart?

Digital microscope with computer software

How is an image viewed through a microscope?

Upside-down and reversed

Which device is used to adjust the intensity of the light for the microscope?

Rheostat

What component should be adjusted to fully visualize a urinary cast that is difficult to see due to bright light?

Aperture diaphragm

What can be adjusted to focus an object and remove a fuzzy halo effect?

Substage condenser

Which part of a microscope consists of a number of leaves that are opened or closed to control the amount of light?

Aperture diaphragm

Which cleaning solvent can be used to remove excess oil and dissolve adhesives that secure objective lenses?

Xylene

How often does a microscope need to be calibrated using a stage micrometer?

Annually

Which type of micrometer is added to microscope eyepieces to impose an image of a scale or crosshairs over the viewing area?

Ocular

Which term refers to the degree of detail and clarity in digital microscope images?

Resolution

Digital microscope resolution is measured in what unit?

Pixels

Which light source for microscopes tends to produce the highest-quality images due to enhanced color balance and stability?

LED

In the metric system, the prefix milli- refers to which power of 10?

$$10^{-3}$$

What is the best way to record an added substance amount of $0.001\,ml$?

$$1\,\text{microliter}$$

What is the correct protocol to prepare a $1:10$ dilution of a patient sample?

$10\,\mu L$ of sample to $90\,\mu L$ of distilled water

If a $60\,mg/dl$ solution is diluted $1:5$, what is the concentration of the dilution?

$$12\,mg/dl$$

If a $40\,mg/dl$ sample is diluted $1:10$, what is the concentration of the dilution?

$$4\,mg/dl$$

Convert the scientific notation value $3.456 \times 10^4$ into a whole number.

$$34,560$$

Convert the scientific notation value $45.6 \times 10^{-2}$ into a decimal number.

$$0.456$$

What is the $H^+$ concentration of a urine specimen with a $pH$ of $6$?

$$10^{-6}$$

If a sample has been diluted using a $1:10$ dilution, what must be done to the result to calculate the undiluted value?

Multiply the result by $10$

What is the best definition of pH?

A negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion

Which of the following represents a basic pH: $6.3$, $6.9$, $7.0$, or $7.2$?

$$7.2$$

What is the equivalent of $73^\circ F$ in degrees Celsius?

$$23^\circ C$$

What is the equivalent of $37^\circ C$ in degrees Fahrenheit?

$$98.6^\circ F$$

Which scale is the most commonly used temperature measurement in the veterinary clinical laboratory?

Celsius

How closely results agree with the true quantitative value is the definition of which term?

Accuracy

The magnitude of random errors and the reproducibility of measurements is the definition of which term?

Precision

The ability of a method to be accurate and precise is known as what?

Reliability

A hemolyzed sample is what type of variable error?

Preanalytic

A lack of maintenance on a laboratory instrument is what type of variable error?

Analytic

A lipemic sample is what type of variable?

Biologic

What type of variable is an error caused by missing information on a laboratory requisition form?

Nonbiologic

What type of variable error occurs when the incorrect serum control is used for the species being tested?

Analytic