CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $) In Thousands	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 110,825	$ 449,301
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $242,444 and $228,917 at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	936,259	845,299
Inventories	84,954	76,572
Deferred income taxes	166,907	142,470
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	97,332	91,775
Total current assets	1,396,277	1,605,417
Property, plant and equipment, net	806,043	834,376
Goodwill	5,796,193	5,101,938
Intangible assets, net	1,054,606	796,405
Other assets	273,352	189,494
Total assets	9,326,471	8,527,630
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	928,162	865,272
Short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	835,910	348,996
Total current liabilities	1,764,072	1,214,268
Long-term debt	3,367,847	2,641,160
Other liabilities	649,588	618,077
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock, par value $0.01 per share; 600,000 shares authorized at both September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010; 214,604 shares and 214,173 shares issued at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	2,146	2,142
Additional paid-in capital	2,331,164	2,311,421
Retained earnings	4,101,066	3,867,420
Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income	(5,444)	10,626
Treasury stock, at cost; 57,183 shares and 43,456 shares at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	(2,906,546)	(2,158,129)
Total Quest Diagnostics stockholders' equity	3,522,386	4,033,480
Noncontrolling interests	22,578	20,645
Total stockholders' equity	3,544,964	4,054,125
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 9,326,471	$ 8,527,630