Medicine and Surgery

Laboratory tests for assessing endocrine function. Pituitary gland: prolactin, growth hormone, posterior pituitary hormones. Thyroid: thyroid hormone synthesis and metabolism, hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis. Screening for congenital hypothyroidism. Iodine deficiency. Endemic goiter. Hypothyroidism. Hyperthyroidism. Thyroid tumors. Adrenal gland: adrenal medullary hormones, adrenal cortical hormones. Enzyme deficiencies. Glucocorticoids: hyperglucocorticoidism (hypercortisolism). Adrenal insufficiency. Renin-aldosterone axis. Hypermineralocorticoidism. Hypomineralocorticoidism. Adrenal cortical androgens. Carcinomas. Laboratory tests for assessing reproductive function. Testosterone. Regulation of male reproduction. Semen analysis. Estrogens. Progesterone. Regulation of female reproduction. Laboratory investigations in the evaluation of the female reproductive system. Diagnostic laboratory assessment of pregnancy in normal and pathological conditions. Evaluation of fetoplacental function. Clinical utility of chorionic gonadotropin determination. The role of the clinical pathology laboratory in prenatal diagnosis: Down syndrome, trisomy 18, neural tube defects. Erythroblastosis fetalis, gestational diabetes, fetal lung maturity, toxemia of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia). Premature rupture of membranes. Fetal asphyxia. The laboratory in preventive medicine: secondary prevention through neonatal screening. The birth of neonatal screening, inclusion principles, technological evolution. Screening tests and confirmatory tests. Diagnostic algorithms. New analytical technologies. Sensors, proteomics, telemedicine, metabolomics. The Laboratory in Space.

Bizzarri, Angeloni, Marchese, Verna. Interpretazione clinica degli esami di laboratorio. Piccin Ciaccio, Lippi. Biochimica Clinica e Medicina di Laboratorio. Edizioni Edises.