Lab Test and Clinical Terms for Integrative Care Clients

If you see a naturopath, a functional medicine clinician, a primary care doctor or an integrative clinic, you may be handed a lab report full of unfamiliar words. This page explains the common ones using MedlinePlus, the US National Library of Medicine's health information service. It is information only. Your own clinician is the right person to say what your results mean for you, and a test result is never a reason to stop or change a prescribed medicine on your own.

The basics of a lab result

• Lab test. A test that checks a sample of your blood, urine or other body fluid or tissue to learn about your health.[1]
• Why tests are ordered. MedlinePlus lists several purposes. A clinician may order a test to diagnose or rule out a condition, especially if you have symptoms, or to monitor a condition.[1] Some general tests look for signs of a possible problem so that further testing can find out for sure.[1]
• Not the whole picture. Lab tests are important, but they do not give a complete picture of your health.[1] Combining test results with your history and exam usually leads to a more accurate diagnosis than any one test.[1]
• Reference range ("normal range"). The set of numbers that marks the high and low ends of results considered normal. These ranges are based on results from large groups of healthy people, and a test may have different ranges for different groups.[1]
• Outside the range is not always disease. MedlinePlus says it is common for healthy people to sometimes have results outside the reference range.[1] A result inside the range is not always a guarantee of good health either.[1]
• Units and labs differ. Different tests use different units of measurement, and you cannot compare results from different labs.[1] Use the range printed on your own report.
• Negative, positive, inconclusive. A negative result means the test did not find what it looked for. A positive result means it did. An inconclusive result means the test was not clearly positive or negative.[1]
• False positive and false negative. A false positive shows a disease or condition you do not actually have. A false negative misses one you do have.[1] MedlinePlus says no test is perfect; these errors are not common but are more likely with certain types of tests or if testing was not done right.[1] The safety side of this is on Over-Testing, False Positives and Incidental Findings.
• What can change a result. Foods and drinks, and some medicines or supplements, can affect results.[1] Tell whoever orders the test about everything you take.
• Home test kits. MedlinePlus says at-home tests should never replace testing your provider orders, and suggests asking your provider or pharmacist to recommend a test you can trust.[1] See Home and Direct-to-Consumer Health Tests.

Common blood tests you may see

The table gives MedlinePlus's plain description of what each test measures. It does not say when you need one. That is a decision for you and your clinician.

Specialty tests are explained elsewhere

Some tests sold in integrative and alternative settings, such as food IgG panels, hair mineral analysis, stool and microbiome panels and "provoked" urine metal tests, are not covered by the plain definitions above. Each has its own critical, educational page, collected in the Index of Tests and Treatment Claims Checked on This Site. For the standard-versus-specialty question, read Lab Tests Ordered in Integrative Practice. This site does not tell anyone to buy or order a test.

Questions worth asking about any test

1. What question is this test meant to answer, and what will we do differently depending on the result?
2. Is there scientific evidence, not just personal stories, behind the claims for this test? NCCIH suggests asking exactly this.[11]
3. Could my medicines or supplements affect the result?[1]
4. Will my regular doctor see the result too? Sharing records helps coordinated care; see Second Opinions and Sharing Records With Your Doctor.