Contemporary Practice in Clinical Chemistry

Clinical chemistry brings together analytical methods, laboratory operations, and the interpretation of results in patient care. Contemporary Practice in Clinical Chemistry offers a wide-ranging reference to these connected parts of laboratory medicine, from preparing and evaluating a specimen to understanding specialized clinical tests.

Edited by William Clarke and Mark A. Marzinke, this fourth edition moves from core principles into technologies and applications used across the clinical laboratory. Its breadth makes it relevant to readers building foundational knowledge as well as experienced laboratorians reviewing developments across the field.

From specimen handling to dependable results

Early chapters address preanalytical variation, statistical methods, reference intervals, method validation, quality control, and laboratory calculations. Together, these subjects illuminate the decisions and checks behind reliable testing—not just the measurement itself, but the conditions that shape how results are produced and assessed.

Explore the methods behind laboratory testing

The book introduces major analytical approaches, including spectrophotometry, chromatography and electrophoresis, electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and immunoassays. It also covers nucleic acid analysis, molecular techniques, laboratory automation, point-of-care testing, and laboratory information management.

Connect analytical practice with clinical questions

Later material applies laboratory principles to a broad range of subjects, including proteins, complement, hemoglobin variants, blood counts, hemostasis, body fluids, lipids, pediatric testing, cardiac biomarkers, and the laboratory evaluation of liver, gastrointestinal, pancreatic, and kidney disorders. The range helps readers place individual tests within the wider practice of clinical chemistry.

Useful for study and professional review

Self-assessment questions and answers appear throughout the contents, making the volume useful for structured review as well as consultation. It is suited to clinical chemistry and pathology students, residents and fellows, medical technologists, and laboratory professionals looking for a broad, subject-spanning reference.

For readers who want to understand both the techniques laboratories use and the clinical settings in which those methods matter, this edition provides an organized guide to contemporary clinical chemistry.

| xix, 1048 pages; illustrations