Revue des sciences chimiques

Clinical Metabolomics is the Next Step in Clinical Biochemistry

Abstract

Bruno Giardina

Clinical biochemistry is a field that primarily relies on biochemical analyses of various body fluids, the most important of which are urine, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid. Centuries of scientific advancements have paved the way for the relatively recent significant advancements in this field. Standard analytical chemistry in the clinical setting has seen decades of significant advancements thanks to technological innovation and the introduction of cutting-edge instruments. Clinical biochemistry was founded on primitive methods like Richard Bright's (1789-1858) test for proteinuria in cases of suspected renal disease, in which a candle flame heated a tablespoon of urine. The beginning of the twentieth century could only be traced to minor technological advancements. In 1920, "a centrifuge, a urinometer, two monocular microscopes, two small substage microscope lights, a Bunsen burner, a Dubosq colorimeter, a basal metabolic rate machine, an electro-cardiograph, a microtome, a knife, a paraffin bath, a few antisera and an assortment of test tubes, beakers, and pipettes" were among the items in the clinical pathology laboratory.