On Demand Medical Testing

A urine test checks different components of urine, a waste product made by the kidneys. A regular urine test may be done to help find the cause of symptoms. The test can give information about your health and problems you may have.

The kidneys take out waste material, minerals, fluids, and other substances from the blood to be passed in the urine. Urine has hundreds of different body wastes. What you eat, drink, how much you exercise, and how well your kidneys work can affect what is in your urine.

A thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) blood test is used to check for thyroid gland problems.

The sedimentation rate (sed rate) blood test measures how quickly red blood cells (erythrocytes) settle in a test tube in one hour. The more red cells that fall to the bottom of the test tube in one hour, the higher the sed rate.

When inflammation is present in the body, certain proteins cause red blood cells to stick together and fall more quickly than normal to the bottom of the tube. These proteins are produced by the liver and the immune system under many abnormal conditions, such as an infection, an autoimmune disease, or cancer.

There are many possible causes of a high sedimentation rate. For this reason, a sed rate is done with other tests to confirm a diagnosis. After a diagnosis has been made, a sed rate can be done to help check on the disease or see how well treatment is working.

Screening test for abnormalities of coagulation factors that are involved in the extrinsic pathway. Also used to monitor effects of Warfarin therapy and to study patients with hereditary and acquired clotting disorders.

Magnesium is an essential trace element. Deficiency leads to irritability, neuromuscular abnormalities, cardiac and renal damage. Its salts are used as antacids and cathartics. Excessive amount may cause CNS depression, loss of muscle tone, respiratory and cardiac arrest.

Magnesium measurements are used in the diagnosis and treatment of hypomagnesemia (abnormally low plasma levels of magnesium) and hypermagnesemia (abnormally high plasma levels of magnesium). Magnesium is decreased in chronic nephritis, acute pancreatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis. It is increased in acute or chronic renal failure and Addison's Disease.

Elevated concentrations of Lp(a) are associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease.

A lipid panel is a blood test that measures lipids—fats and fatty substances used as a source of energy by your body. Lipids include cholesterol, triglycerides, high-

Homocysteine may be ordered as part of a screen for people at high risk for heart attack or stroke. It may be useful in someone who has a family history of coronary artery disease but no other known risk factors. Its utility for this purpose, however, continues to be questioned because the role, if any, that homocysteine plays in the progression of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has not been established. Routine screening, such as that done for total cholesterol, is not yet recommended.

A Complete Blood Count or CBCis a great test to take to give you a snapshotyour health. This test gives important information about the kind and the number of cells in your blood. Physicians use this information to evaluate symptoms, help diagnose conditions and treat certain illnesses (like infections).