The physician-laboratory relationship

The practice of clinical laboratory medicine dates back to Hippocrates, Galen, and Maimonedes, who first mentioned the use of urine tests (uroscopy) in the diagnosis of disease. Later, in the 17th century, Robert Boyle published some of his chemical analyses on urine as on blood. In a 1848 lecture to medical students, the British physician Arthur Garrod stated, “How imperfect our knowledge must be both of the healthy and diseased condition of the body if we do not call in the aid of chemistry to elucidate the phenomena.” Until the beginning of this century, the physician usually performed “laboratory” tests on the urine at the bedside of the patient as a part of the clinical assessment of the patient’s condition. The texture, color, volume, and taste (note these were the pre-OSHA days) of the urine served as indicators of numerous ailments including kidney and blood diseases and diabetes.