Procedural overview of molecular genetics technology in the clinical laboratory

Basic concepts of molecular technology and diagnostic applications in the clinical laboratory are discussed. Advances in molecular biology have led to an increased number of clinical laboratories providing diagnostic support at the genetic level. The clinical applications of such a technology at present is broad, perhaps limited only by the regions mapped on the human genome. As the rapid discovery of new genes ignites a chain reaction of opportunities, the clinical laboratory scientist should be kept informed of the exciting technologic advances in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, genetic-related diseases, and leukemia and lymphomas. Many future diagnostic applications are now being researched.