Body Fluid Lab Essentials

Clinical pathology

Video course

by Amer Wahed, MD FRCPath

From time to time we send various body fluids to the laboratory—but are we ordering the right tests on these fluids to come to an accurate diagnosis? After attending this course, you will be comfortable ordering and interpreting body fluid analyses. You will understand the clinical implications of lab abnormalities and will know what to do about them.

1h 21m 7s

5 Quizzes

2 CME

What’s in it for you?

Master the most important skills

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After completing this course, you will be able to

Identify, analyze, and diagnose synovial effusions
Identify pleural effusions and classify them as transudative or exudative
Diagnose ascites using physical exam techniques and laboratory tests
Analyze cerebrospinal fluid and diagnose specific etiologies
Identify a pericardial effusion and know when to perform pericardial fluid drainage with analysis

What's inside

Free

Chapter 1

Synovial effusion

In this chapter, we will discuss the pathophysiology of synovial effusion, the acquisition and analysis of synovial fluid, and how to determine the cause of the effusion.

7 lessons

14m 53s

Synovial effusion intro

33s

Identifying a synovial effusion

2m 24s

Acquiring synovial fluid for analysis

2m 4s

Analyzing synovial fluid

4m 35s

Covering crystal analysis

1m 22s

Diagnosing types of synovial effusions

3m 55s

Synovial effusion quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 2

Pleural effusion

Here, you will cover the pathophysiology and classification of pleural effusions, acquisition and analysis of pleural fluid, and how to determine the cause of the effusion.

8 lessons

19m 3s

Pleural effusion intro

28s

Identifying a pleural effusion

2m 16s

Acquiring pleural fluid for analysis

1m 59s

Analyzing gross appearance and cell count

2m 55s

Classifying pleural effusions

3m 48s

Differentiating transudative and exudative effusions

3m 19s

Investigating other pleural fluid components

4m 18s

Pleural effusion quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 3

Ascites

Learn how to acquire ascites fluid and test for specific etiologies in this chapter. You will cover the pathophysiology of ascites and learn when to order further testing.

8 lessons

20m 34s

Acquiring ascites fluid by paracentesis

2m 5s

Examining the gross appearance

2m 41s

Analyzing the cell count and protein concentration

2m 52s

Conducting other testing

Testing for specific etiologies

4m 55s

Ascites quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 4

Cerebrospinal fluid

Master the lumbar puncture and subsequent analysis of CSF in this chapter. You will also learn how to order additional testing and distinguish between viral and bacterial meningitis.

8 lessons

17m 32s

Cerebrospinal fluid intro

32s

Introducing cerebrospinal fluid

2m 35s

Obtaining a CSF sample

1m 50s

Analyzing gross appearance and cell count

3m 36s

Analyzing the chemical composition

4m 13s

Using additional testing

2m 20s

Diagnosing meningitis

2m 26s

Cerebrospinal fluid quiz

Quiz

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Chapter 5

Pericardial effusion

This chapter covers the pathophysiology of pericardial effusion, pericardial fluid analysis, and how to determine the cause of the effusion.

6 lessons

9m 5s

Pericardial effusion

31s

Identifying a pericardial effusion

3m 54s

Performing pericardial fluid drainage

1m 42s

Analyzing pericardial fluid

2m 22s

Pericardial effusion quiz

Quiz

Body Fluid Lab Essentials Outro

36s

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Teachers of this course

Amer Wahed, MD FRCPath

Amer is a Professor and Vice Chair (Clinical Pathology) and Associate Residency Program Director in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas, Health Science Center at Houston, USA.

Teacher Profile

Medmastery

Nora Drenaline

Clinical pathology

Claim your certificate

All members receive a certificate for completing this course. For Pro members, the certificate comes with 2 CME credits.

CME accredited

All our courses and workshops are fully CME accredited. We provide USA AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and European CME credits (ECMEC®s). Pro members can download their CME certificates upon successful completion of activities. Want to transfer these credits to your national system? No problem.

Learn how this works

CME at its best

Award-winning teaching method

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2013
Highly commended by the British Medical Association
Awarded in the digital category of the BMA Book Awards—London 2017
Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal
For outstanding digital education—Berlin 2017
Internationally accredited
CME accredited in the USA and EU with mutual recognition agreements in most other countries.
Trusted institutional partner
Used by residency programs and universities around the world to train their clinicians and students.
Top-rated by our learners
Rated excellent by hundreds of users on Trustpilot, an independent reviewing platform.

What’s in it for you?

Master the most important skills

Learn any skill in under 5 hours

Save time and money

After completing this course, you will be able to

What's inside

Synovial effusion

Pleural effusion

Ascites

Cerebrospinal fluid

Pericardial effusion

Claim your certificate

CME accredited

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Medal

Highly commended by the British Medical Association

Winner of the Comenius EduMedia Seal

Internationally accredited

Trusted institutional partner

Top-rated by our learners