A laboratory specimen is sometimes a

biological specimen A biological specimen (also called a biospecimen) is a biological laboratory specimen held by a biorepository for research. Such a specimen would be taken by sampling so as to be representative of any other specimen taken from the source of t ...

of a medical patient's tissue,

fluids In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously move and deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot res ...

, or other samples used for laboratory analysis to assist in

differential diagnosis In healthcare, a differential diagnosis (DDx) is a method of analysis that distinguishes a particular disease or condition from others that present with similar clinical features. Differential diagnostic procedures are used by clinicians to di ...

or staging of a disease process. These specimens are often the most reliable method of

diagnosis Diagnosis (: diagnoses) is the identification of the nature and cause of a certain phenomenon. Diagnosis is used in a lot of different academic discipline, disciplines, with variations in the use of logic, analytics, and experience, to determine " ...

, depending on the ailment. For example,

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

biopsies, performed on laboratory specimens of breast tissue, yield just a 2% rate of incorrect diagnosis. Laboratory specimens may also include

feces Feces (also known as faeces American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, or fæces; : faex) are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the ...

Types

General types of cellular tissue extraction include: * Bone marrow aspiration * Cardiac tissue * Core * Endometrial biopsy * Endoscopic biopsy * Excisional and incisional * Fine-needle aspiration *

Lymph node A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that includ ...

Preparation

For a given medical process, a certain

volume Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch) ...

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

must be taken from the

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...

. Some specimen types also require special treatment, such as immediate mixture with an additive, or storage at a certain

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

. After extraction, all specimen containers must be labeled with at least two of the following

identifiers An identifier is a name that identifies (that is, labels the identity of) either a unique object or a unique ''class'' of objects, where the "object" or class may be an idea, person, physical countable object (or class thereof), or physical mass ...

(at the time of collection): patient's name, date of birth, hospital number, test request form number, accession number, or a unique

random number A random number is generated by a random (stochastic) process such as throwing dice. Individual numbers cannot be predicted, but the likely result of generating a large quantity of numbers can be predicted by specific mathematical series and st ...

. All specimens should be labeled with the patient present. This ensures that no false results are obtained from mislabeled samples.

Storage and use

Specimen temperatures are controlled for their specific use. Several common temperatures for storage are listed below: Any specimen sample should only be used for testing, as any sharing of patient biological samples without patient consent is

unethical Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied eth ...

and could heavily bias/slow research progress, not to mention grossly violate patient privacy.

Disposal

Disposal varies based on the nature of the specimen and testing.

Laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...

and healthcare personnel should follow industry standard practices regarding sterile technique and any precaution regarding hypodermic needles. All biological material should be treated as potentially hazardous and in doing so protocols regarding the disposal of the specimen should be strictly followed to maintain the safety of both patients and health care workers.

References

Specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository f ...

Biology experiments Biological specimens {{Science-stub