Homeostasis and Diagnostic Tests

• The majority of diagnostic tests in medicine are performed to check whether components of the body are within normal values. Essentially, they are determining whether tissues, organs, and/or systems of the body are working correctly by determining if they are maintaining homeostasis with the products they produce. The urinalysis is a very common diagnostic test. In this lab students will act as laboratory technicians, and will be performing a urinalysis on simulated urine samples that have been submitted to their lab. A short background on symptoms and reasons for urine collection for each patient is also given. Students are then required to interpret the results of the urinalysis for each patient. This activity is extended to allow students to inquire and conduct their own urinalysis.

Homeostasis FAIL: A System Out of Balance

• Diabetes is one of the most common homeostatic imbalances and many serious health concerns arise from this condition. Students work as lab technicians to test the blood and urine of patients for glucose levels that assist in the diagnosis of diabetes. The students then fill out a patient report with recommendations and follow-up by retesting the patient’s blood and urine collected a few weeks later. Students also calculate and graph glomerular filtration rates for each patient before and after.

Items included in this lab are listed below.

Rapid response test strips, Specimen cups, Ziploc bags, Patient A Urine, Patient B Urine, Patient C Urine, Patient D Urine, Patient E Urine, Glucose Test Strips, Initial Blood A, Initial Blood B, Initial Blood C, Final Blood A, Final Blood B, Final Blood C.