Clinical biochemistry
Clinical Biochemistry
Clinical Biochemistry (pronunciation: klin-i-kəl bī-ō-'ke-mə-strē) is a field of study within the medical sciences that involves the analysis of bodily fluids for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Etymology
The term "Clinical Biochemistry" is derived from the Greek words "klinikos" meaning "bed", referring to the study's application in treating patients, and "bio" and "chemia", meaning "life" and "chemistry" respectively. This reflects the discipline's focus on the chemical processes and substances which occur and are important in organisms.
Definition
Clinical Biochemistry, also known as Medical Biochemistry or Chemical Pathology, is the study of the chemical and biochemical mechanisms of the body in relation to disease, mostly through the analysis of body fluids such as blood or urine. Many diseases tend to show significant changes in their chemical composition of body fluids like the increased levels of blood enzymes due to their release from disease or damaged tissues or unusual increase in blood sugar in diabetes.
Related Terms
- Biochemistry: The branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms.
- Pathology: The study of the causes and effects of disease or injury.
- Metabolism: The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms.
- Enzyme: A substance produced by a living organism which acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction.
- Diabetes: A disease in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Clinical biochemistry
- Wikipedia's article - Clinical biochemistry
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