Specialty Certified Medical Assistant Laboratory Procedures and Diagnostics 2

Question 1

What does an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) indicate?

Accepted Answer

Nonspecific inflammation or infection in the body

Answer

ESR is a nonspecific marker of inflammation; an elevated rate indicates the presence of inflammatory, infectious, or autoimmune conditions.

Question 2

Which blood cell type is primarily responsible for fighting bacterial infections?

Accepted Answer

Neutrophils

Answer

Neutrophils are the most abundant white blood cells and serve as the primary defense against bacterial infections through phagocytosis.

Question 3

When collecting a throat swab for strep culture, which area should be swabbed?

Accepted Answer

The posterior pharynx and tonsillar areas

Answer

A throat culture requires swabbing the posterior pharynx and tonsillar areas where Group A Streptococcus colonizes, while avoiding the tongue and cheeks.

Question 4

What is a differential white blood cell count used to evaluate?

Accepted Answer

The proportion of each type of white blood cell in a sample

Answer

A differential WBC count identifies the percentage of each leukocyte type (neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, basophils), helping diagnose infections and hematologic disorders.

Question 5

Which chain-of-custody procedure is critical when handling specimens for forensic or drug testing purposes?

Accepted Answer

Documenting specimen handling from collection to disposal with signatures at each transfer

Answer

Chain of custody requires documented accountability for specimen handling at every step to ensure the specimen's integrity and admissibility as legal evidence.

Specialty Certified Medical Assistant Practice Test

Specialty Certified Medical Assistant Practice Test

Specialty Certified Medical Assistant Laboratory Procedures and Diagnostics 2