Test, stool occult blood
A test to check for microscopic blood in stool. (Fecal refers to stool. Occult means hidden.) Abbreviated stool OB.
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- Test, stress echocardiography
A supplement to the routine exercise cardiac stress test. During stress echocardiography, the sound waves of ultrasound are used to produce images of the heart at rest and at the peak of exercise. In a heart with normal blood supply, all segments of the left ventricle (the major pumping chamber of the heart) exhibit enhanced […]
- Test, syphilis (FTA-ABS)
The fluorescent treponemal antibody absorbed (FTA-ABS) test for syphilis is a blood serum screening test designed to demonstrate the presence or absence of specific antibodies directed against the organism (Treponema pallidum) responsible for syphilis. The test detects the majority but not all cases of the disease. It is thus a way of screening for the […]
- Test, syphilis (RPR)
Rapid plasma reagin, a blood test for syphilis that looks for an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) RPR is compatible with a person not having syphilis, but in the early stages of the disease, the RPR often gives false negative results. Conversely, a false positive […]
- Test, syphilis (VDRL)
A blood test for syphilis (VDRL stands for Venereal Disease Research Laboratory) that detects an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) VDRL is compatible with a person not having syphilis, but in the early stages of the disease, the VDRL often gives false negative results. Conversely, […]
- Test, ThinPrep Pap
A modified Pap test technique designed to reduce some of the technical problems inherent in the traditional type of Pap smear. In the traditional Pap test, cell samples are obtained from the vagina, cervix, and cervical canal and spread on a glass slide. In the ThinPrep Pap test, cell samples are collected using a special […]