For most patients, the "lab test" begins and ends with the drawing of blood, or the swab in the back of the throat, or when we turn in the urine cup. In fact, the "test" hasn't even begun.
The drawn blood, throat culture, or urine is only the specimen, or body sample, required to run the test. The real test happens elsewhere, in a lab where instruments and trained laboratorians process, analyze, and report on what our specimens contained.
In this article, you can follow two samples - a blood sample and a throat culture - to get a glimpse at what you don't normally get to see: what happens to your sample, and how carefully it is tracked, once it leaves your sight.
