For most patients, the "laboratory test" begins and ends with taking the blood sample, or the swab in the back of the throat, or when we hand in the urine sample. In fact, the "test" hasn't even begun.

The blood sample, throat culture, or urine is only the specimen, or body sample, required to run the test. The real test happens elsewhere, in a laboratory where instruments and trained staff process, analyse, and report on what our specimens contain.

In this article, you can follow two samples - a blood sample and a throat culture - to get a glimpse at what you don't normally get to see: what happens to your sample, and how carefully it is tracked, once it leaves your sight.