Doctor-Reviewed Health Guides: Conditions, Procedures & Health News

A thyroid panel is a blood test that measures hormones your thyroid makes and antibodies that can affect it. It usually checks TSH, T4 or free T4, T3 or free T3, and sometimes thyroid antibodies such as TPO. The results help diagnose an underactive or overactive thyroid and show whether thyroid medicine is working.

A pelvic exam is a routine physical exam of your reproductive organs, including the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. A provider looks at and gently feels these organs to check for infections, growths or other problems, and may do a Pap test at the same visit. It usually takes about 10 minutes and shouldn't be painful.

A thyroid antibody test is a blood test that checks whether your immune system is making antibodies against your thyroid. High levels usually point to an autoimmune thyroid disease, either Hashimoto's disease (underactive thyroid) or Graves' disease (overactive thyroid). It is often ordered when TSH or T4 results are abnormal.

A breast self-exam (BSE) is a step-by-step way to look at and feel your own breasts so you learn what is normal for you and notice changes early. It takes a few minutes and is usually done once a month, right after your period ends. It does not replace mammograms or exams by a healthcare provider.

A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) is a stool test that looks for hidden (occult) blood in your poop. You collect a small sample at home and send it to a lab. It's used to check for bleeding in the digestive tract and to screen for colorectal cancer. A positive result needs follow-up, usually a colonoscopy.

A calcium score test, or heart scan, is a quick CT scan that measures calcium in the coronary arteries. Calcium is a sign of plaque buildup. A score of 0 is normal, and higher scores mean more disease and a higher risk of heart attack. It helps decide whether you need preventive treatment such as a statin.

A virtual colonoscopy, also called CT colonography, is a CT scan that creates detailed 2D and 3D images of your colon and rectum to look for polyps and cancer. It takes about 15 minutes, needs no sedation, and is one way to screen for colorectal cancer. If polyps are found, you need a traditional colonoscopy to remove them.

A BRCA test is a blood or saliva test that looks for inherited changes (mutations) in two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2. These changes raise the risk of breast, ovarian, prostate and pancreatic cancer. A positive result does not mean you will get cancer, but it helps you and your care team plan screening and prevention.

Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) checks embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) for certain genetic or chromosomal conditions before one is transferred to the uterus. A few cells are removed from each embryo and tested, so embryos without the condition can be chosen. There are three types: PGT-A, PGT-M and PGT-SR.

A breast cancer risk assessment is a questionnaire-based tool that estimates your chance of developing breast cancer over a set time or your lifetime. It weighs risk factors such as age, family history, gene mutations and breast density. Your score helps decide how often you need screening. It can't tell you whether you will get cancer.

A gonorrhea test checks a urine sample or a swab for Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacterium that causes gonorrhea, a common sexually transmitted infection (STI). Swabs can come from the vagina, cervix, urethra, rectum or throat. Many people with gonorrhea have no symptoms, so testing is the only way to know for sure.

Glaucoma tests are a set of quick, painless eye exams that look for glaucoma, a group of eye disorders that damage the optic nerve. They measure eye pressure, check the drainage angle and corneal thickness, examine the optic nerve and test side vision. Most results are ready during the same visit.

A colposcopy checks the cervix, vagina and vulva for abnormal tissue, mainly cells that could turn into cancer. A provider looks through a colposcope, a lighted magnifying instrument that stays outside the body. It's often done after an abnormal Pap smear or a positive HPV test. It takes 10 to 20 minutes, and a biopsy may be taken.

An esophagram, also called a barium swallow, is an X-ray test that shows what happens inside the esophagus as you swallow. You drink a liquid containing barium, which makes the esophagus show up clearly. It helps find problems such as trouble swallowing, achalasia, strictures, spasms and hiatal hernia. The test is painless and takes 20 to 30 minutes.

A urine specific gravity test is a quick part of a urinalysis that compares the density of the urine with the density of water. It shows how well the kidneys balance water and remove waste. A typical range is 1.005 to 1.030. A low result means the urine is dilute, and a high result means it's concentrated.

An HIV viral load test is a blood test that measures how much HIV is in the blood. It's the main way to check how well antiretroviral therapy (ART) is working. The goal is a falling viral load and, ideally, an undetectable result, which means below 20 to 50 copies/mL depending on the lab.

A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a test that lets a provider look inside the rectum and the lower third of the colon with a flexible tube that has a light and camera. It's used to find the cause of bleeding, belly pain or changes in bowel habits and to screen for colorectal cancer. It takes 5 to 15 minutes.

The Apgar score is a quick check of how a newborn is doing in the first minutes after birth. A provider rates five signs from 0 to 2 each, for a total of 0 to 10, at 1 and 5 minutes. A score of 7 to 10 is reassuring; a lower score means the baby may need extra support.

A skin biopsy is a quick, in-office test that removes a small sample of skin so it can be examined under a microscope. It helps find the cause of a new or changing mole, a rash, a scaly patch or a sore that won't heal, including skin cancer. The procedure takes about 15 minutes, and the risks are slight.

A Holter monitor is a battery-powered heart monitor that records the heart rate and rhythm without a break for 24 to 48 hours. You wear it under your clothes while you go about your normal day. Because it records longer than a standard EKG, it has more chances to catch an irregular heartbeat or the cause of unexplained dizziness.

A hemoglobin test is a blood test that measures the amount of hemoglobin, the iron-rich protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. It's part of a complete blood count and is most often used to check for anemia. For adults, a normal level is about 12 to 17.4 g/dL, though ranges vary by lab, age and sex.

A differential diagnosis is a list of possible conditions that could be causing your symptoms. Because many conditions share the same symptoms, your doctor builds this list from your history and exam, then uses tests to rule conditions out until one diagnosis remains. It is a step toward your diagnosis, not the final answer.

A lumbar puncture, or spinal tap, is a procedure in which a doctor places a needle in the lower back to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid, the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. Testing the fluid helps diagnose meningitis, brain bleeding, encephalitis and multiple sclerosis. The area is numbed first, and it takes 15 to 30 minutes.

An iron blood test measures the iron in your blood. Depending on the test, it shows how much iron is circulating right now, how much is stored, how iron moves through your body and how much your blood can carry. Low results can point to iron deficiency, and high results can point to iron overload.