UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                   WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
                              
                          FORM 8-K

                       CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934


                        APRIL 22, 1998
                        --------------
              (Date of earliest event reported)
                              
                              
                              
         LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
         ------------------------------------------
   (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
                              


   DELAWARE                1-11353            13-3757370
   --------                -------            ----------
(State or other          (Commission        (IRS Employer
jurisdiction or          File Number)        Identification
organization)                                Number)


                              
  358 SOUTH MAIN STREET, BURLINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA  27215
  --------------------------------------------------------
          (Address of principal executive offices)
                              
                              
                              
                        336-229-1127
                        ------------
      (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)




ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS

On April 22, 1998, the Company issued a press release
announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement
with MedLab, Inc. (Medlab) to acquire certain of the assets of 
Medlab. 


ITEM 7.  FINANCIAL STATEMENTS, PRO FORMA FINANCIAL
         INFORMATION AND EXHIBITS

  (c) Exhibit
                              
      20  Press release of the Company dated April 22, 1998.



                         SIGNATURES
                              
      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this
report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto
duly authorized.

               LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA HOLDINGS
               ------------------------------------------
                             (Registrant)



                    By:/s/ BRADFORD T. SMITH
                       -----------------------
                           Bradford T. Smith
                           Executive Vice President,
                           General Counsel,Secretary
                           and Compliance Officer



Date: May 7, 1998

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                    CONTACT: PAMELA SHERRY
                                    TELEPHONE: 336-584-5171,
                                    EXT. 4855
                              
   LABORATORY CORPORATION OF AMERICA-REGISTERED TRADEMARK-
   ANNOUNCES DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE MEDLAB, INC.
                              
                              
BURLINGTON, NC, APRIL 22, 1998- Laboratory Corporation of
America-Registered Trademark- Holdings (LabCorp-Registered
Trademark-) (NYSE: LH) today announced that it has entered
into a definitive agreement with Medlab, Inc. (Medlab) to
acquire certain of the assets of Medlab.  Established in
1983, and based in Wilmington, Delaware, Medlab is the
largest provider of clinical laboratory testing services in
Delaware with annual revenues in 1997 of approximately $20
million.  Terms of the definitive agreement were not
disclosed.

"The combination of LabCorp and Medlab will allow us to
greatly enhance our laboratory services in Delaware and is
directly in line with our strategy of adding volume to take
advantage of existing testing capacity while improving our
operating and service levels in key markets," said Thomas P.
Mac Mahon, President and Chief Executive Officer of LabCorp.

Medlab filed for Chapter 11 protection under  U. S.
bankruptcy law in September 1997.  Consummation of the
transaction is subject, among other things, to the
satisfactory approval of the terms of the transaction by the
U. S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware.

Laboratory Corporation of America-Registered Trademark-
Holdings (LabCorp-Registered Trademark-) is a national
clinical laboratory organization with annual revenues of
$1.5 billion in 1997.  The Company operates primary testing
facilities nationally, offering more than 1,700 different
clinical assays, from routine blood analyses to more
sophisticated technologies.  LabCorp performs diagnostic
tests for physicians, managed-care organizations, hospitals,
clinics, long-term care facilities, industrial companies and
other clinical laboratories.
                             ###