Students learn to differentiate and identify potential pathogens from commensalistic organisms through the evaluation of clinical samples using current laboratory techniques. Fall or Spring semester. The student learns to use research methods under supervision and presents the results in a seminar and written report. Topics include mechanisms of infection, diseased states, clinical presentations, and the effect on the human host. Specimen collection and handling, isolation techniques, organism identification, clinical relevance, culture interpretation, susceptibility testing, as well as other methods used in the detection of agents responsible for infection are also covered.
Students perform routine and specialized procedures in serology and cellular immunology.
Lectures and individualized instruction correlate principles of clinical immunology with the laboratory tests performed. Emphasis is on clinical usefulness and limitation of each analysis. Clinical correlations and discussions will be part of this course. Fall or Spring semester. This course provides an introduction to a number of different areas of clinical laboratory practice.