A 78-year-old male presents to the emergency department reporting a 2-day history of difficulty breathing, cough, and chest pain. Upon triage assessment, the patient is found to have a fever, rapid rate of breathing, low oxygen saturation, and crackles upon auscultation of the lungs. A chest X-ray reveals consolidation in the right upper lung field. The patient is diagnosed with pneumonia, initiated on oxygen therapy, and admitted for observation and treatment.

Further microscopic analysis of negatively stained specimens reveals a colorless ring around the outside of each of the spherical cells against a dark background. This clearing indicates that the pathogen possesses which structure(s)?

Match the following preservative with the constituent it is meant to preserve.

A post-vasectomy sample is received into the lab. You mix the sample well and place a drop of specimen on a slide. After covering it with a coverslip, you examine it under the microscope. No sperm are seen on the slide. What is the next step?

What type of proteinuria is present if a patient has an increase in only low molecular-weight proteins in the urine?

How often should QC be performed in the urinalysis department?

Which of the following specific gravity determinations would be most likely to correlate with a light yellow urine? 

Which type of urine specimen is necessary to obtain accurate quantitative measurement of a substance?

What is the most common cause of septic arthritis?

Match the crystal with its description or it’s common name.  You may use an answer only once.