Laboratory medicine, explained
Understand your blood test.
A plain-language guide to laboratory medicine: what the panels on your report measure, what the units mean, and how to prepare, so a lab result stops feeling like a foreign language.
Specimen report
Sample panel
A result lives inside its own reference range. We explain what each range means; your report's own range, and your doctor, always win.
Every panel, decoded
FBC, U&E, LFT, lipids, TFT, HbA1c: what each panel measures and why a doctor orders it, in plain language.
Units without guesswork
Convert glucose, cholesterol, creatinine, urea and HbA1c between conventional and SI units with the exact factors.
Prepare properly
Fasting, timing and hydration checklists that defer to the instructions on your request form.
Ranges in context
We teach what a reference range means; your report and your doctor always have the final word.
The bench
Tools for reading your results
The premise
What is Diagnostics Mauritius?
Diagnostics Mauritius is an educational resource about laboratory medicine and diagnostic testing, written for patients and families in Mauritius. Laboratory medicine is the branch of healthcare that analyses blood, urine, and other samples to help doctors detect disease, confirm a diagnosis, and follow how well a treatment is working. Many medical decisions draw on some form of test result, yet the reports patients receive are full of unfamiliar names, units, and reference ranges. This site translates that world into plain language: what common tests measure, why a doctor might order them, how to prepare for a sample collection, and what concepts like reference ranges, sensitivity, and false positives really mean. It also explains the quality systems that make results trustworthy, from proper sample handling to laboratory accreditation. The aim is to help people in Mauritius walk into a laboratory or a follow-up consultation feeling informed rather than anxious. Nothing here interprets an individual result: numbers only make sense in the context of a person's history and examination, which is the job of the treating doctor.
Frequently asked questions
What is laboratory medicine and why does it matter?
Laboratory medicine is the medical specialty that analyses samples such as blood, urine, and tissue to provide objective information about what is happening inside the body. Doctors use these results to detect disease, confirm or rule out a diagnosis, and monitor treatment over time. Because so many clinical decisions depend on test results, the accuracy and quality of laboratory work directly affect the care a patient receives.
What does a reference range on my lab report mean?
A reference range shows the span of values found in most healthy people for that particular test, and it gives your doctor a starting point for interpretation. A value slightly outside the range is not automatically a disease, and a value inside the range does not always guarantee that everything is normal. Age, sex, medications, and the laboratory's own methods all influence where a result falls, which is why interpretation belongs to your doctor.
Why do some tests require fasting or special preparation?
Some measurements can be affected by food, exercise, alcohol, supplements, medicines, or the time of day. Many routine tests, including many lipid tests, do not require fasting. Fast only when the clinician or laboratory handling your test specifically tells you to, and follow their timing and medicine instructions.
Can a laboratory test ever be wrong?
No test is perfect: every test has a small rate of false positives and false negatives, and problems with sample collection or handling can also affect a result. Good laboratories reduce these risks with strict quality controls, and doctors often repeat or combine tests before making important decisions. An unexpected result is usually a reason for a follow-up conversation and sometimes a repeat test, not a verdict on its own.
Is the information on Diagnostics Mauritius a substitute for medical advice?
No. Diagnostics Mauritius publishes general education about laboratory tests and diagnostics, not personalised medical advice, and it cannot interpret your individual results. Always discuss your reports with the doctor who ordered the tests, since they can read the numbers in the context of your history and examination. The content here is meant to make those conversations easier, not to replace them.
Accurate diagnostics are the foundation of the right treatment.
Diagnostics Mauritius is part of the Medtech ecosystem, which equips laboratories and clinics across Mauritius with diagnostic and monitoring technology, from cardiac and point-of-care systems to continuous glucose monitoring, backed by local calibration and service.
Discover Medtech