Molecular diagnostics have begun to play an integral part in clinical laboratory diagnostic testing. Traditionally, molecular diagnostics have been utilized in three major clinical areas:

• Infectious diseases
• Genetics
• Tumor markers

These molecular based diagnostic tests, while historically reserved for specialty/reference labs, have recently seen expansion of their utility within the scope of routine clinical laboratories. Molecular based diagnostics can be utilized by small labs as well as large ones, and can be found in virtually every department of the clinical laboratory.