Immunology

Certain substances or pathogens (germs) can be detected with the help of immunological tests. These things include viruses, hormones and the blood pigment hemoglobin. They can be used be used for very different purposes, such as detecting viral infections, checking whether someone has an allergy. The tests are used for routine testing in hospitals and laboratories, as rapid tests in test centers or at home, and in family doctors' and specialists' practices. The immunological tests used in laboratories are made by producing artificial antibodies that exactly match the substance or germ in question. When these antibodies come into contact with a sample of blood, mucous membrane, urine or stool that has the matching substance or germ in it, they bind to it. So the reaction shows that the specific germ or substance is present.