Important Concepts in Understanding and Correctly
Interpreting Biochemical Laboratory Test Result
Because the practice of endocrinology is one of the most clinical laboratory dependent of medical
specialties, a word of caution about overzealous reliance on biochemical testing and laboratory test
results is appropriate. Because a laboratory test result by itself rarely, if ever, definitively establishes
a clinical diagnosis, proper use of laboratory test results requires an understanding of the five
principles detailed below.