The fact there has been a time when you may have given a blood sample, or a little bit of urine to the doctor for testing, means that you have undergone a laboratory test. Medical laboratory tests analyze samples of your blood, body tissues, urine, or stool. These samples that you provide are tested by a laboratory technician, or maybe your doctor, to find out if your results are normal. Every test has a normal range provided for it and your results should ideally figure in this normal range.
These normal ranges are given as there might be a slight variation in the results for different individuals and what is normal for one may be different for another.
There are a number of factors which may affect your test results. Factors such as your eating habits or what you have consumed before the test might affect the results. Very often your age, sex, and culture affect the outcome of your tests. You need to tell your doctor what medicines you are taking to make sure that they do not affect your test results. It is therefore very important to follow all the instructions given to you by the doctor before the tests.
Your test results will be compared by your doctor with any previous tests that you may have had. These medical tests are often recommended by your doctor to find out if there are any major changes in your health. These are generally routine tests. Based on the results of these tests your doctor will be able to diagnose any medical conditions that you might have. He or she will also plan a course of treatment for you and keep a track of your illness.
There are some tests which directly indicate that you have some specific type of health problem. There are others however that provide general information and simply indicate to the doctor that you might be having some health problem. Based on the results of your preliminary tests, doctors might take a decision to make you undergo some other procedures or tests. The results of these will help your doctor make a more stable and correct diagnosis. He or she might also put you on some treatment or make changes in the treatment that you already undergoing.
It is therefore important that any test results are interpreted on the basis of your general health and in conjunction with other test results. It is best that you go to a doctor who knows your medical history and is able to explain the implications of the test results to you.