Digestive Tests

The digestive tract, one of the largest of all body systems, extends approximately 30 feet long and extends as a long continuous tube, from mouth to anus! This system is unique in that it is strictly speaking "outside the body". That is, it's long continuous tube communicates with the outside world. We offer several tests regarding gastrointestinal function include the Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis and several other tests and panels yielding important information about the ecology of the GI tract, including intestinal wall integrity, small bowel bacterial overgrowth, yeast presence, immune function, parasite activity, specific intolerances, Helicobacter infection, and vaginal health.

Articles:

The Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis

submitted by Dr. Gary Farr 6/25/2004
I often tell my patients that the gastrointestinal tract is much like a carburetor in a car. Your digestive tract tract must take gasoline (your food), and then mix it with air (enzymes and other digestive juices). If this mixing process goes well, your car runs and doesn't cough or sputter. How efficiently your fuel burns determines to a large extent how many years you're going to get out of your car. Although a rather crude analogy, this principle does hold true for the human digestive tract. There are many points along the digestive where some "burning" process can go awry and cause seemingly unrelated problems elsewhere in the body. This article will discuss those various places and give you a very good detail of what can go wrong.

The Vaginosis Profile

submitted by Dr. Gary Farr 6/24/2004
The Vaginosis Profile from Great Smokies Diagnostic Laboratory is one of the most comprehensive evaluations available. It features microscopy for every sort of organism by trained and experienced technicians with an advanced DNA probe for the most common causes of the condition. With a rapid, semiautomated DNA probe test to definitively identify clinically significant levels of Gardnerella, and Trichomonas, detection rates for these organisms can reach levels of 90% and greater in properly transported specimens.