Encyclopedia of clinical laboratory tests. Ed. prof. N. W. Titsa. - M .: Labinform, 1997 (translation, edited by V.V. Menshikov)

The intensive development of biology and its branches, their active interaction with chemistry, physics, and also with the technical sciences in the second half of the 20th century led to a significant enrichment of the field of medicine called laboratory. Both in the diagnosis of most diseases and in monitoring their course, laboratory studies have firmly taken the place of a very extensive source of valuable information about the patient’s body condition. They play a role in preventive examinations and during follow-up, and in monitoring the condition in critical situations. The research results help the doctor to verify their diagnostic assumptions or turn to a new hypothesis. Despite the fact that not every case of the disease can be finally recognized on the basis of laboratory data, the vast majority of hospitalized patients and a significant proportion of outpatients undergo one or another laboratory study. For 1 patient in Russian hospitals in 1996, an average of 32.7 analyzes were made, and for 1 visit to the clinic - 0.88 analyzes.