American Medical Technologist (AMT) Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Resource to Guarantee Exam Success!

An ova and parasite analysis specifically requires a fecal specimen because it is designed to detect the presence of parasitic infections in the gastrointestinal tract. The primary goal of this test is to identify ova (eggs) and larvae of parasites that may be excreted in stool samples. Since many intestinal parasites, such as Giardia, Entamoeba histolytica, and various helminths, reside and reproduce in the intestines, stool is the most appropriate type of specimen for accurate detection and diagnosis.

Other specimen types, such as urine, blood, or sputum, would not provide the necessary information for diagnosing parasitic infections in the digestive system. Urine can be tested for certain infections, but it is not used for ova and parasite analysis. Blood samples could indicate systemic infections but do not show intestinal parasites directly without specific testing. Sputum is primarily analyzed for respiratory pathogens, making it unsuitable for this particular test as well. Thus, fecal samples are the only relevant specimens for the ova and parasite analysis.