ASCP BOC EXAM Study Guide Questions
And Correct Answers Guaranteed
Pass|2026
Which enzyme catalyzes the conversion of starch to glucose and maltose?
Amylase
Nephelometers measure light:
Scattered at a right angle to the light path
A serum sample demonstrates an elevated result when tested with the Jaffe
reaction. This indicates:
Renal functional impairment
A vaginal/rectal swab is collected from a pregnant patient to screen for group B
Streptococcus colonization. What is the best medium to use for specimen
inoculation?
Lim Broth
,When testing a patient for HIV antibody, what is used to confirm a positive
screening test?
Western Blot
An isolate from a stool culture gives the following growth characteristics and
biochemical reactions:
MAC: Colorless colonies
HE agar: Yellow-Orange colonies
TSI: Acid slant/acid butt, no gas, no h2s
Urea: Positive
These screening results are consistent with which enteric pathogen?
Yersinia enterocolitica. Yersinia produces yellow colonies on HE because it can
ferment sucrose.
When stool examination is negative, the preferred specimen for the diagnosis of
paragonimiasis is:
Sputum. Paragonimus worms live in cystic cavities in the lungs. Ova may be found
in sputum, or swallowed and passed in stool.
,A branching gram-positive, partially acid-fast organism is isolated from a
bronchial washing on a 63-year-old woman receiving chemotherapy. The
organism does not hydrolyze casein, tyrosine or xanthine. The most likely
identification is:
Nocardia asteroides. (THINK BECAUSE OF THE BRANCHING). It is partially acid fast
and does not hydrolyze the substrates casein, tyrosine, or xanthine.
Use of only male donors as a source of plasma intended for transfusion is
advocated to reduce which type of reaction?
TRALI. TRALI is most commonly caused by donor HLA or granulocyte-specific
antibodies that react with recipient antigens, causing damage to the lung
basement membrane and bilateral pulmonary edema within 6 hours of
transfusion. Multiparous females are more likely to have antibodies than males.
Using male donors as the sole source of plasma products is a strategy for reducing
the risk of TRALI.
The result of an anti-nuclear antibody test was a titer of 1:320 with a peripheral
pattern. What best correlates with these results?
Anti-dsDNA Titer 1:80. and a high titer of antibodies to Sm. Peripheral pattern
reacts with the antigenic determinants of double strandedness of DNA.
Abnormalities found in erythroleukemia include:
Megaloblastoid development.
, Which factor will not interfere with the reagent strip test for leukocytes in urine?
Nitrite. Nitrite is produced by bacteria, and WBCs are found when there is a
bacterial infection. If nitrite interfered with the WBC reaction, then the dipstick
would be worthless when testing patients with UTIs.
Which locus is used to identify the gender of the individual from whom a DNA
sample is obtained?
Amelogenin. Amelogenin gives different sized amplicons based on whether it is
amplified from the X or Y chromosomes, so males would have 2 bands on a gel at
the amelogenin locus, while females would have only 1.
Penicillium species is isolated from a bone marrow culture of a patient that
travelled to southeast Asia. After 7 days the isolate produces a red pigment that
diffuses into the medium. The technologist should:
Transfer a colony to BHI at 35 degrees. C. Penicillium marneffiei is a dimorphic
fungi that produces a diffusible red pigment.
An elevated serum iron with normal iron binding capacity is most likely
associated with:
Pernicious anemia. Ineffective erythropoiesis. High iron turnover.
And Correct Answers Guaranteed
Pass|2026
Which enzyme catalyzes the conversion of starch to glucose and maltose?
Amylase
Nephelometers measure light:
Scattered at a right angle to the light path
A serum sample demonstrates an elevated result when tested with the Jaffe
reaction. This indicates:
Renal functional impairment
A vaginal/rectal swab is collected from a pregnant patient to screen for group B
Streptococcus colonization. What is the best medium to use for specimen
inoculation?
Lim Broth
,When testing a patient for HIV antibody, what is used to confirm a positive
screening test?
Western Blot
An isolate from a stool culture gives the following growth characteristics and
biochemical reactions:
MAC: Colorless colonies
HE agar: Yellow-Orange colonies
TSI: Acid slant/acid butt, no gas, no h2s
Urea: Positive
These screening results are consistent with which enteric pathogen?
Yersinia enterocolitica. Yersinia produces yellow colonies on HE because it can
ferment sucrose.
When stool examination is negative, the preferred specimen for the diagnosis of
paragonimiasis is:
Sputum. Paragonimus worms live in cystic cavities in the lungs. Ova may be found
in sputum, or swallowed and passed in stool.
,A branching gram-positive, partially acid-fast organism is isolated from a
bronchial washing on a 63-year-old woman receiving chemotherapy. The
organism does not hydrolyze casein, tyrosine or xanthine. The most likely
identification is:
Nocardia asteroides. (THINK BECAUSE OF THE BRANCHING). It is partially acid fast
and does not hydrolyze the substrates casein, tyrosine, or xanthine.
Use of only male donors as a source of plasma intended for transfusion is
advocated to reduce which type of reaction?
TRALI. TRALI is most commonly caused by donor HLA or granulocyte-specific
antibodies that react with recipient antigens, causing damage to the lung
basement membrane and bilateral pulmonary edema within 6 hours of
transfusion. Multiparous females are more likely to have antibodies than males.
Using male donors as the sole source of plasma products is a strategy for reducing
the risk of TRALI.
The result of an anti-nuclear antibody test was a titer of 1:320 with a peripheral
pattern. What best correlates with these results?
Anti-dsDNA Titer 1:80. and a high titer of antibodies to Sm. Peripheral pattern
reacts with the antigenic determinants of double strandedness of DNA.
Abnormalities found in erythroleukemia include:
Megaloblastoid development.
, Which factor will not interfere with the reagent strip test for leukocytes in urine?
Nitrite. Nitrite is produced by bacteria, and WBCs are found when there is a
bacterial infection. If nitrite interfered with the WBC reaction, then the dipstick
would be worthless when testing patients with UTIs.
Which locus is used to identify the gender of the individual from whom a DNA
sample is obtained?
Amelogenin. Amelogenin gives different sized amplicons based on whether it is
amplified from the X or Y chromosomes, so males would have 2 bands on a gel at
the amelogenin locus, while females would have only 1.
Penicillium species is isolated from a bone marrow culture of a patient that
travelled to southeast Asia. After 7 days the isolate produces a red pigment that
diffuses into the medium. The technologist should:
Transfer a colony to BHI at 35 degrees. C. Penicillium marneffiei is a dimorphic
fungi that produces a diffusible red pigment.
An elevated serum iron with normal iron binding capacity is most likely
associated with:
Pernicious anemia. Ineffective erythropoiesis. High iron turnover.
