Medicine as we know it today would not be possible without laboratory equipment and lab testing equipment. These machines allow doctors to evaluate and diagnose many previously undiagnosable or “mysterious” diseases. Another sector where this equipment has had a dramatic role is law enforcement; the science of forensics utilises many types of testing devices and tools. Some equipment is general while some is specific to one industry or another. Here are a few of the most commonly used medical and forensic lab equipment.

Some of the most common medical lab supplies include glass slides and microscopes for looking at blood or other specimens, beakers for holding liquids, centrifuges for separating substances and sterilisers for keeping surgical and other equipment clean. One other piece of equipment commonly found in medical labs is refrigerator, though this is not your average home refrigerator; it is equipped with special features which allow the refrigerator to be programmed for the exact temperature a particular specimen or medicine requires.

Forensic labs employ some of the same lab equipment as hospitals such as gloves, vials, glass slides and microscopes. Specialised machines have been developed, however, to make the process of solving crimes much easier. One of those is a DNA testing machine; through advances in technology, forensics experts can now use this machine to match a potential subject’s DNA to a particular crime scene.

In short, laboratory equipment and lab testing equipment have made huge contributions to both medicine and law enforcement. More in-depth descriptions of some of these advancements can be found online.