Medical Technology Lecture Review

153 Question-and-Answer flashcards covering definitions, roles, equipment, sampling, history, and professional practice in Medical Technology.

It is the chemical, physical, and microscopic study of body fluids to assist in detecting, diagnosing, and treating disease.

What is the general definition of Medical Technology as a science?

Republic Act (RA) 5527.

Which law is known as the Philippine Medical Technology Act of 1969?

June 21, 1969.

When was RA 5527 implemented?

An allied health profession that is central to hospital operations.

According to Ohio State University, how is Medical Technology described in hospitals?

1) Aid in diagnosis, study, and treatment of diseases; 2) Promote health and prevent illness.

What two major purposes do laboratory procedures serve?

Chemical, microscopic, bacteriological, cytologic, serologic, parasitologic, or immunologic tests (any three).

Name any three categories of laboratory tests performed by medical technologists.

In the clinical laboratory.

Where do Medical Technologists process patients’ samples?

Third, after physicians and nurses.

In job rankings, where do MT/CLS place within healthcare occupations according to Jobs Rated Almanac?

What MT role involves working directly in a clinical laboratory and is considered the traditional role?

Laboratorian.

Which MT role prepares new professionals in assuming various roles of MTs?

Professional Educator.

Which MT role is involved in marketing, sales, and development of diagnostic products and instruments?

Researcher.

Which MT role provides technical support and consumer protection in industries such as pharmaceuticals and cosmetics?

Laboratory Analyst.

Which major MT area deals with measurement of analytes in body fluids?

Clinical Chemistry.

Which major MT area focuses on the study of blood components, counting, and morphology?

Hematology.

Which major MT area concentrates on antigen–antibody reactions in patient samples?

Immunology and Serology.

Which major MT area involves identification of microorganisms causing disease?

Microbiology.

Which major MT area ensures compatibility of blood transfusions?

Immunohematology.

Which minor MT area deals with routine analysis of urine and other body fluids?

Clinical Microscopy.

Which minor MT area focuses on detecting parasites in specimens?

Parasitology.

Which minor MT area examines tissues and cells for disease?

Histopathology and Cytology.

The test must be performed immediately and individually.

What does the term “STAT” signify in a laboratory request?

Approximately 20–50 % more.

How much more expensive is a STAT test compared with the normal price?

About 30 minutes.

What is the usual turnaround time for a STAT request?

The test is done as soon as possible and given priority based on running time.

In laboratory priority terms, what does “Today” indicate?

In batches, following the laboratory’s stated turnaround time.

How are “Routine” tests generally processed?

Reference Values.

What term is preferred over “normal values” for lab results?

95 %.

Reference values usually represent what percentage of a healthy population?

Test results that require immediate attention because they indicate the patient is at risk.

What are “Critical Values” in laboratory medicine?

Panic Values.

What nickname is given to critical values because of their urgency?

Any two of the following: age, sex, pregnancy, diurnal variation, race, blood type.

Give two patient factors that influence reference values.

Light microscope.

Which laboratory equipment magnifies and allows viewing of microscopic organisms and cells?

Colorimeters and photometers.

Which equipment measures absorbance or transmittance of light in solutions?

Centrifuge.

Which equipment separates components of a mixture by rapid spinning?

Balance.

What device accurately measures mass in the laboratory?

Cold incubators.

Which equipment maintains low temperatures for cultivating organisms?

Refrigerator.

What appliance stores reagents and samples at approximately 2–8 °C?

pH meter.

Which instrument measures the acidity or alkalinity (pH) of solutions?

Oven.

Which device subjects materials to high-temperature drying or sterilization?

De-ionizer.

What apparatus produces purified water by removing ions?

Safety cabinet (biosafety cabinet).

Which workspace protects personnel from biohazards through controlled airflow?

Venous blood.

What specimen type is obtained from a vein and separated into serum or plasma?

Arterial blood.

Which specimen type is collected from an artery for blood-gas analysis?

Capillary blood.

Which specimen type is collected by skin puncture, especially in infants?

Urine.

What body fluid is routinely examined for kidney and metabolic disorders?

Feces (stool).

Which solid waste sample is analyzed for gastrointestinal disease?

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

What clear body fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord is collected for analysis?

Sputum (phlegm).

Which respiratory secretion is examined for evidence of pulmonary infections?

Aspirates.

What term describes fluids aspirated from body cavities such as pleural or joint fluid?

Calculi.

What are hard deposits like kidney stones submitted for laboratory analysis called?

Plasma.

Which blood component requires an anticoagulant to obtain: plasma or serum?

Serum.

Which blood component lacks fibrinogen: plasma or serum?

Serum.

Which component is considered more stable for long storage, plasma or serum?

Plasma.

Which component can be prepared immediately after thorough mixing with anticoagulant?

Serum.

Which component may show elevated potassium because of clot retraction?

Plasma.

Which component may be contaminated by platelets and white blood cells?

To prevent bacterial growth or stabilize metabolites when testing is delayed.

Why are preservatives added to urine samples?

Hydrochloric acid, Boric acid, Acetic acid, Thymol, and Toluene.

What acid may be added to stabilize metabolites/prevent bacterial growth in urine?

Yellow.

What color sticker is used to identify dangerous specimens?

Any two of the following: HBV-positive, HIV-positive, TB-positive, blood-borne pathogens.

Name two infectious agents that would cause a sample to be labeled dangerous.

Quantity Not Sufficient – an inadequate sample volume.

What sampling error is abbreviated QNS?

Incorrect specimen container error.

Collecting a blood sample in the wrong tube represents what kind of error?

It can contaminate or alter the composition of the sample.

Why is using an inappropriate sampling site considered an error?

Errors in timing.

Failing to observe required fasting periods leads to what error category?

Incorrect sample storage error.

What error occurs if samples are not kept at the proper temperature?

Hippocrates.

Who is considered the “Father of Medicine”?

Hippocrates.

Which physician authored the Hippocratic Oath?

Galen.

Which ancient physician described diabetes as “diarrhea of urine”?

Tasting of urine and listening to the lungs.

What did Hippocrates advocate?

Blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile.

What four body fluids formed the basis of early humoral theory?

Ebers Papyrus.

Which 1550 B.C. document described intestinal parasites?

Vivian Herrick.

Who identified the three stages of hookworm infection?

Prof. M. Ruth Williams.

Which author proposed that medical technology began in the medieval period via urinalysis?

Uroscopy or “water casting.”

What medieval diagnostic practice involved observing urine in decorative flasks?

Alessandra Giliani.

Which 14th-century Italian laboratory assistant died from a lab-acquired infection?

Anne Fagelson

Which Italian physician supervised Alessandra Giliani?

Zacharias Janssen.

Who invented the first compound microscope?

because of his work in Embryology and anatomy.

Why is Marcello Malpighi called the greatest early microscopist?

Marcello Malpighi.

Which scientist is dubbed the “Father of Physiology and Embryology”?

Rudolf Virchow.

Who asserted that all cells arise from pre-existing cells, contributing to Cell Theory?

Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek.

Who is known as the “Father of Microbiology and Microscopy”?

The 1660s.

In which decade did Leeuwenhoek invent his functional microscope?

Bacilli, cocci, and spirilla

. Which bacterial shapes did Leeuwenhoek first describe?

Edward Jenner.

Who discovered vaccination against smallpox in 1796?

Apothecaries Act of 1815.

Which 1815 act established licensing for apothecaries in England?

Dr. William Occam.

Which 19th-century physician emphasized laboratory findings in diagnosis?

Baron Karl von Humboldt.

Who pioneered correlating physical findings before and after death, founding anatomical pathology?

Spirometer.

Which instrument, invented by John Hutchinson, measures lung vital capacity?

Jules Herrison.

Who invented the sphygmomanometer in 1835?

Louis Pasteur.

Which scientist developed vaccines against anthrax and rabies?

Gregor Mendel.

Who formulated the laws of inheritance from plant studies in 1866?

Joseph Lister.

Who is called the “Father of Antiseptic Surgery”?

Robert Koch.

Which bacteriologist first photographed anthrax bacilli?

Elie Metchnikoff.

Who described phagocytosis and the role of white blood cells in immunity?

Neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils.

Name the five types of white blood cells Metchnikoff identified.

Karl Landsteiner.

Who developed the ABO blood group system in 1902?

August von Wassermann.

Which scientist developed an immunologic test for syphilis in 1906?

Howard Ricketts.

Who discovered rickettsiae, organisms between bacteria and viruses?

Hans Fischer.

Who worked out the structure of hemoglobin in 1929?

Jonas Salk.

Which researcher developed the first polio vaccine in 1954?

James Westgard.

Who introduced statistical quality-control rules for laboratories in 1973?