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| Medical labrotary Science and BioChemistry |
The MLS is the field of study that deals with the diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prevention and control of diseases in human beings, animals and the environment through analysis of body fluids and tissues. The medical laboratory scientist is one laden with the theory and techniques to execute such scientific engagements having met the academic and professional requirement. The primary place of work of the scientist is the medical laboratory, which is a place equipped for measurement and examination of sample from the body-fluids and tissues for the purpose of providing information on diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prevention of diseases and monitoring of response to therapy. The role that the medical diagnostic laboratory plays cannot be overemphasized.
As observed by Ramnik (1999), a consultant pathologist, ‘only diagnostic reports help in differentiating functional from organic and idiopathic from non-idiopathic. In short, a medical diagnostic laboratory is more than the backbone of a treating person. It is the very soul of diagnosis making. Better diagnosis does mean better patient care. ’If health, which according to World Health Organisation (WHO), is the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not mere absence of disease and/or infirmity, is crucial to the survival of the mankind then all efforts must be geared towards employment of this crucial contribution of the medical laboratory. According to the slogan of Royal College of Pathologists, “Pathology is the hidden science at the heart of modern medicine, vital for diagnosis and clinical management of disease”. Apart from being a crucial component of laboratory medicine, MLS is the lynchpin of fundamental advances in medical knowledge and research. It is therefore apposite that this field of study be grasped.
Historical Background-Biomedical Science.
lthough clinical laboratory was invented in Hippocratic times (460-377BC) by laboratory physicians. It was not until recent times that medical laboratories evolved as permanent institutions in the hospital. As recent as 19th century, Europeans physicians used results from the very few rudimentary laboratories operated by pharmacists! It was only at the beginning of the 20th century that medical laboratories evolve into permanent institutions in within the hospitals as innovative tools were developed due to advances in physics, chemistry and microbiology (Darlene, 1999). Medicine and Surgery lagged behind developments in the physical and natural sciences and there was little difference between orthodox, homeopathic and traditional medical medicine (Youngson, 1978). It was then easier to prescribe than to think due to grossly inadequate knowledge of diseases and drugs action.
Source: Corresponding Author: Fashina Abiola I. Email: abfash@yahoo.com
Rethinking Medical Laboratory Science Today
Pioneering technicians, the forebears of medical laboratory scientists were located in the primordial laboratories of Wohler, the professor of chemistry who was the first to synthesize urea in vitro in 1828; Pasteur, the microbiologist who debunked spontaneous generation hypothesis laid the foundation for modern immunology and discovered pasteurization for wine preservation in 1859; Koch, a country physician who postulated the germ theory in 1870, et cetera. Angelina Hess (1181), a laboratory technician introduced the evolutionary use of agar-agar to solidify microbiological culture media for identifying bacterial colonies. MLS was developed largely by formal mentorship.
Emergence of the Modern Biomedical Science.
As these procedures acquired a patient application, number of industrial countries establish formal basic training programmes around the mid 1920s. In many developed countries, formal training and education programmes for laboratory assistants or technicians were established by 1920s under the guidance of pathologist. By late 1940s clinical laboratory techniques, patient testing and test results were firmly established in hospitals as a part of the practice of medicine and the delivery of healthcare. In the 1950s and 1960s, the explosion of knowledge in the biological and clinical sciences, the development of automation and more sophisticated laboratory techniques, the explosive growth of clinical test menu, the expanding work load of clinical laboratories and its relevance to the delivery of healthcare, created the need for well defined and more academically organize medical technology or clinical laboratory programmes. The content of academic training applied to biosciences principles: biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, statistics, anatomy, and physiology and manual and automated clinical laboratory techniques with appropriate continuous quality assurance data prior to reporting test results and problem-solving methods. In the 1950s progress in clinical medicine, and increase in the tests menu demands advances in the principles and techniques in laboratory practice.
Evolutionism of Medical Laboratory Science.
The need for acquisition of higher knowledge due to overall professional responsibilities of biomedical scientists in the day-to-day operation in clinical laboratories is evident. There was a continual development of the academic level of the profession, Assistant to Technician to Technologist to Scientist. As a result of these events the professional requirements advance from “no formal qualifications”. In the 1940s and 1950s, to bachelor degree programmes in the last 30 years. The degree is awarded upon completion of a one year compulsory internship which affords the student scrupulous training. Postgraduate training exists in the master and doctorate degrees. Today, in developing and developed countries, bachelor programme has been established although associate diploma still exists in the later. Now, Medical, or Biomedical, Laboratory Science is well develop body of knowledge that includes portions of the basic and medical sciences, medical techniques and research methods. This facilitates the production of qualitative medical diagnostic testing. The results are of great value and meaning to health care practitioner.
Medical Laboratory Science Practice-Beyond the Bench The university training for medical laboratory science covers various academic disciplines. The main academic basic sciences include: anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, molecular biology, immunology, microbiology, pharmacology, haematology, chemical pathology, and histopathology. Considerable content of internal medicine, family practice, obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics are entrenched in the curriculum. Additional principles and processes include information technology, management of all aspects of the laboratory-financial, health and human resources. Thus the biomedical scientist is exposed to the basics of these disciplines which form a substructure for him or her in other to make further advances
Biochemistry Review Encarta Microsoft Library Dictionary (2005) defines Biochemistry as study of the substances found in living organisms, and of the chemical reactions underlying life processes. This science is a branch of both chemistry and biology; the prefix bio-comes from bios, Greek word for “life”. The chief goal of biochemistry is to understand the structure and behavior of biomolecules. These are the carbon-containing compounds that make up the various parts of the cell and carry out the chemical reactions that enable it grow, maintain an reproduce itself, and use and store energy. The biomedical scientist can pursue a career by getting higher degrees in the field of medical biochemistry. This provides him or her opportunities in the world of academia and research
