Medical Laboratory Technician  Exam Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield Medical Laboratory Technician  Exam facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. Which type of error causes all quality control results to shift in the same direction over time? → Systematic error
2. A cerebrospinal fluid sample with a glucose level significantly lower than the serum glucose and elevated protein most likely suggests what? → Bacterial meningitis
3. Urine can be examined for the presence of _________ to identify metabolic acidosis. → Ketone bodies
4. A laboratory's proficiency testing (PT) result for glucose is graded as unacceptable. What is the required next step under CLIA? → Perform an investigation and implement corrective action
5. A blood bank technologist performs a DAT on a post-transfusion sample and obtains a mixed-field reaction. What does this finding most likely indicate? → Circulating transfused donor cells are being coated with recipient antibody in vivo
6. Which technique is used to amplify specific DNA sequences in molecular diagnostics? → Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
7. A prolonged bleeding time with a normal platelet count and normal PT/aPTT most likely suggests which condition? → von Willebrand disease
8. A physician orders a trough level for vancomycin, a therapeutic drug. When is the appropriate time to collect the blood specimen for this test? → Up to 30 minutes before the next scheduled dose
9. Which immunoglobulin class is most abundant in serum and provides the majority of antibody-based immunity against invading pathogens? → IgG
10. A patient presents with recurrent Neisseria infections. Which complement component deficiency is most likely? → C5-C9 (membrane attack complex)
11. Which technique uses labeled probes hybridized to target nucleic acid on a membrane to detect gene expression patterns? → Northern blot
12. What morphological trait facilitates the differentiation of renal tubular epithelial cells from spherical forms of transitional epithelial cells? → Nucleus orientation
13. What is the correct order for removing personal protective equipment after working in a BSL-2 laboratory? → Gloves, gown, eye protection, mask, hand hygiene
14. Which complement pathway is activated by antigen-antibody complexes involving IgG or IgM? → Classical pathway
15. In urinalysis, the presence of waxy casts most commonly indicates what condition? → Chronic renal failure
16. Which OSHA standard specifically addresses occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens in clinical laboratories? → 29 CFR 1910.1030
17. An elevated D-dimer test is most clinically significant for which of the following applications? → Ruling out venous thromboembolism (VTE) in a low-probability patient
18. A laboratory performs a fluorescent treponemal antibody absorption (FTA-ABS) test. This test is classified as which type of syphilis test? → Treponemal confirmatory test
19. In real-time PCR (qPCR), fluorescence is measured to: → Quantify the amount of target DNA during amplification
20. What is the primary stain used to differentiate gram-positive from gram-negative bacteria? → Gram stain
21. Which fire extinguisher class is appropriate for an electrical equipment fire in the chemistry analyzer area? → Class C
22. What is the most common cause of a falsely decreased total protein result on a chemistry analyzer? → Lipemia interfering with the biuret reaction
23. An INR of 4.5 in a patient on warfarin therapy indicates which of the following? → Excessive anticoagulation requiring dose adjustment
24. Which hemoglobin electrophoresis pattern is characteristic of sickle cell trait (HbAS)? → HbA greater than HbS with normal HbA2
25. What is the purpose of the denaturation step in PCR? → To separate double-stranded DNA into single strands
26. In flow cytometry, what is the function of the forward scatter (FSC) detector? → To measure relative cell size
27. The BCR-ABL fusion gene detected by molecular methods is associated with which condition? → Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML)
28. Which method is considered the reference method for measuring total cholesterol? → Abell-Kendall method
29. Which of the following describes the primary role of von Willebrand factor (vWF) in hemostasis? → Mediating platelet adhesion to exposed collagen
30. Which reaction is the basis for the methodologies employed for the quantitation of bilirubin in serum/plasma samples? → Diazo