Medical test categories
Every kind of medical test in 36 categories: laboratory, imaging, specialty diagnostics, measurements, screening tools and procedures, with the tests that have a page and the catalogued concepts still to be written.
A test can belong to several categories but has one canonical page. A catalogued concept is a clinical idea the site knows (with its abbreviations and synonyms) and maps terminology onto; it becomes a page only when it can be written to the site's quality standard, never as a thin placeholder.
Laboratory 21
Tests on blood, urine, stool, swabs, tissue and other body fluids.
Blood & haematology
Counts and appearance of the cells in blood, haemoglobin and its variants, red-cell survival and the bone marrow that makes them.
Coagulation & haemostasis
How well blood clots and how quickly clots are broken down: screening times, individual factors, platelet function and the inherited or acquired tendencies to bleed or clot.
Chemistry & metabolic
The salts, gases, proteins, enzymes, waste products and fuels measured in serum or plasma: the core chemistry of every hospital laboratory.
Kidney & urinary
Blood and urine measurements of how well the kidneys filter, concentrate and conserve, and the dipstick and microscopy examination of urine.
Liver & hepatobiliary
Enzymes, proteins and clotting factors that reflect liver-cell damage, bile flow and synthetic function, plus the antibody, viral, genetic and imaging tests of liver disease.
Lipid & cardiometabolic
Cholesterol, triglycerides and the lipoproteins that carry them, with the newer markers used to refine cardiovascular risk.
Diabetes & glucose
Glucose now, glucose over the last months, the insulin the pancreas makes and the antibodies that mark autoimmune diabetes.
Endocrine & hormone
Hormones of the thyroid, adrenal, pituitary and parathyroid glands and the dynamic tests that provoke or suppress them.
Reproductive & fertility
Sex hormones, ovarian reserve, semen analysis and the tests of ovulation used in fertility assessment.
Pregnancy & prenatal
Confirming a pregnancy and, once established, the screening, diagnostic and monitoring tests of mother and fetus.
Vitamins, minerals & nutrition
Iron and its carriers, the B vitamins, fat-soluble vitamins and trace elements: the deficiencies and excesses that show in blood.
Immunology & inflammation
Markers of inflammation and infection, the complement system and the immunoglobulins that make up humoral immunity.
Autoimmune & rheumatology
The autoantibodies and genetic markers used in lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, coeliac disease and autoimmune liver disease.
Allergy
Blood, skin and challenge tests that identify what a person reacts to and how severely.
Infectious disease & microbiology
Finding the organism: cultures, microscopy, antigen and antibody tests, PCR and sequencing for bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, and testing which drugs will work.
Genetic & molecular
Tests of chromosomes, genes and variants, from a karyotype to whole-genome sequencing, and their use in inherited disease, cancer and drug response.
Cancer & tumour markers
Proteins and genetic changes measured in blood or tissue to help evaluate, stage, guide and monitor cancer. A marker alone rarely diagnoses cancer.
Toxicology & drug monitoring
Measuring medicines with a narrow safety margin, screening for drugs of misuse and detecting poisons, gases and heavy metals.
Pathology & cytology
Tissue and cells examined under the microscope: biopsies, smears, aspirates, special stains and the molecular tests done on them.
Blood bank & transfusion
Grouping, antibody screening and crossmatching so that transfused blood is compatible, and the tests of a suspected transfusion reaction.
Body fluid analysis
What is measured in cerebrospinal, pleural, ascitic, joint, pericardial and other fluids drawn from the body.
Imaging 1
Pictures of the inside of the body.
Specialty diagnostics 10
Recordings, functional tests, endoscopy and specialist examinations, organised by body system.
Cardiovascular
Recordings, ultrasound, stress, catheter and vascular tests of the heart and blood vessels.
Respiratory
How much air the lungs move, how well gas crosses into blood, and the challenge, exercise, sampling and endoscopic tests of the airways and lungs.
Neurology
Recordings of the brain, nerves and muscles, tests of the spinal fluid and autonomic function, cognitive assessment and the imaging of the nervous system.
Gastroenterology
Endoscopy, motility and acid studies, breath tests, liver assessment and the imaging of the digestive tract.
Kidney & urology diagnostics
Imaging, endoscopy, pressure studies and biopsy of the kidneys, bladder and prostate, alongside the urine and blood tests of kidney function.
Eye & ophthalmic
Tests of how well the eyes see and the examinations and imaging of every part of the eye.
Hearing & balance
Hearing thresholds, middle-ear and inner-ear function, and the tests that find the cause of dizziness and vertigo.
Sleep
Studies that record breathing, oxygen, brain activity and movement during sleep, and daytime tests of sleepiness.
Dermatology
Looking at, sampling and testing the skin: dermoscopy, biopsy, allergy patch tests, fungal tests and light-based examinations.
Bone, joint & musculoskeletal
Imaging of bones and joints, bone density, joint fluid, nerve and muscle studies and the blood tests of inflammatory and autoimmune joint disease.
Measurements, screening & procedures 4
Vital signs, validated assessment tools, diagnostic procedures and tests done at the bedside or at home.
Vital signs & physiological measurements
The measurements taken at every consultation and hospital observation round, and what each reflects in the body.
Screening & clinical assessment
Validated questionnaires and scores used to screen, grade severity and estimate risk. Proprietary instruments are described, never reproduced.
Endoscopy & diagnostic procedures
Procedures done to look inside the body or take a sample: scopes of the airways, gut, bladder and joints, catheter studies, punctures and biopsies.
Point-of-care & home testing
Tests done at the bedside, in a pharmacy or at home, with a meter, a strip or a self-collected sample.
118 page links across 929 catalogued concepts. All tests A–Z · Imaging · Biomarkers · Procedures
About this taxonomy
- Written by
- Anatomy Nexus editorial team
- Review status
- Not yet independently reviewed · policy
- Last updated
- Sources
- Atlas data (BodyParts3D, FMA) · how we source
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