Abstract
As the clinical diagnostic laboratory prepares to enter the 21st century, it is interesting to reflect on past scientific and social events that have influenced the current status of the laboratory, and anticipate future problems and opportunities. It would be a mistake to suggest that all the significant medical and social events that had an impact on the present laboratory function can be discussed or evaluated in a short introductory chapter. It is also possible to mistakenly attribute more influence to some events than they deserve simply because they are being interpreted with a 20th century bias. However, some threads of commonality have influenced the evolution of diagnostic laboratories from earliest times. It is the objective of this chapter to highlight events that, in my opinion, have shaped how and/or why clinical laboratories have arrived at their present position in the practice of medicine.
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Moore, R.E. (1997). A Historical Perspective on the Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory. In: Coleman, W.B., Tsongalis, G.J. (eds) Molecular Diagnostics. Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2588-9_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-2588-9_1
Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ
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