38 GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Cholestech LDX System Procedure Manual
< TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acceptable Control Range – range of results that indicate adequate performance when
analyzing a control sample. The range is shown in the control’s product insert.
Accuracy – correctness; freedom from error. The accuracy of results can be measured by
comparing them with those from another laboratory (this is “
relative accuracy
”).
Additive – chemical added to a blood collection tube, usually to prevent the blood from
clotting (anticoagulant).
Aerosol – fine mist that solid or liquid particles are dispersed in.
Agglutination – clumping together of antigen-bearing cells, bacteria, or particles in the
presence of specific antibodies. Also called “
clumping
.”
Aliquot – small portion of a measured volume of a substance taken as a sample
representing the whole.
Analysis – laboratory procedure that enables measurement of the amount of an analyte in
a specimen.
Analyte – substance or constituent being measured (
e.g.,
cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose).
Antibody – substance formed in the body in response to a foreign substance (an
antigen
)
and that interacts only with that substance.
Anticoagulant – chemical used to prevent blood from clotting.
Antigen – any substance that, injected into an organism, causes the development of
antibodies.
Antiserum – serum that contains antibodies.
Aseptic – free from infection or septic material; sterile.
Assay – measurement of the amount of an analyte in a specimen; a test.
Autoclave – instrument that sterilizes material by subjecting it to steam under pressure.
Bias (inaccuracy) – measure of the departure from accuracy. A numerical difference
between the mean of a set of replicate measurements and the true value of the sample.
Calibrated – (of a measuring device,
e.g.,
a pipette) graduated into appropriate units.
Calibration – taking readings from an instrument or other measuring device and relating
them to known concentrations of an analyte or true value.
Calibrator – material, solution, or freeze-dried preparation used in calibration. The
concentration of the analytes in a calibrator is known to be within a particular range.
Calibrators may be a primary or a secondary standard.
Capillary – any one of the small vessels that form a network throughout the body for the
interchange of substances between the blood and tissue fluid.
Glossary of Terms
I
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