Description

Preface

During the twenty-two years which have elapsed since this work
was first published, laboratory medicine has undergone many
changes. These changes relate not only to the more specialized
and sophisticated techniques now used, but also to fundamental
changes within the profession itself. Automation, data processing
and other technical advances have all helped to bring about not
only procedural change but changes in outlook. In the United
Kingdom, the name of the professional body has been changed
from the Institute of Medical Laboratory Technology to the
Institute of Medical Laboratory Sciences (IMLS). This in itself
reflects the progress which has been made. The examination
structure for medical laboratory scientists has similarly been
changed, and currently a National Certificate pathway is the

common route to Associateship of the IML S and State Registra-
tion. Graduates are entering the IML S and the profession in in-
creasing numbers, and the formation of a College of Pathologists,

subsequently the Royal College of Pathologists, are added signs
of the need for an understanding of the increasing complexities
of modern medical laboratory sciences.
These many changes have been borne in mind in preparing the

5th Edition of this work. The contents have been enlarged, up-
dated and in many instances have been completely re-written.

Despite the changes in the layout, contents of the book, and the
profession to which it applies, the original title Introduction to
Medical Laboratory Technology by which it is universally known,
has been purposely retained.
A further change that has taken place in recent years is the
introduction, particularly into the National Health Service, of SI
Units. System.e International d’Unites (SI Units) were approved
internationally in 1960 and are becoming generally accepted in
science and medicine in Europe and some other parts of the world.
A table of SI units, showing the changes in nomenclature and
the abbreviations used, will be found at the end of the book
(p. 681).