Spirometry is a type of pulmonary function test, or a lung function test, that measures the flow of air through your lungs. It also estimates the amount of air in your lungs. The test is performed using a machine called a spirometer. It measures the amount of air you breathe and how fast you can blow air out of your lungs. Spirometry is a safe and commonly ordered test.Spirometry tests determine if lungs are functioning at expected levels. It helps to diagnose lung and airway diseases. For example, the test can detect chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) before symptoms develop. The test can also check for pulmonary fibrosis, or scarring of the lung tissue.
This test measures the level of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the blood. ACTH is a hormone made by the pituitary gland, a small gland at the base of the brain. ACTH controls the production of another hormone called cortisol. Cortisol is made by the adrenal glands, two small glands located above the kidneys. Cortisol plays an important role in helping you to:
Respond to stress
Fight infection
Regulate blood sugar
Maintain blood pressure
Regulate metabolism, the process of how your body uses food and energy
Too much or too little cortisol can cause serious health problems.
An audiometry exam tests your ability to hear sounds. Sounds vary, based on their loudness (intensity) and the speed of sound wave vibrations (tone).
Hearing occurs when sound waves stimulate the nerves of the inner ear. The sound then travels along nerve pathways to the brain.
Sound waves can travel to the inner ear through the ear canal, eardrum, and bones of the middle ear (air conduction). They can also pass through the bones around and behind the ear (bone conduction).
An x-ray examination uses an electrical device to emit (put out) x-rays and digital technology to create two-dimensional pictures of internal body structures.
This test is particularly useful in diagnosing conditions or diseases that affect the bones and chest.
A conventional x-ray examination is non-invasive, painless and does not require any recovery time.
The dose of radiation from an x-ray examination is considered safe ? roughly the same as you would receive from the general environment in about one week.
