


                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1


                    [Letterhead of PriceWaterhouseCoopers]

                       Consent of Independent Accountants



To the Board of Directors
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings:



     We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration
Statement on Form S-8 (Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings Amended and
Restated 1999 Stock Incentive Plan) of our report, dated February 12, 1999
relating to the financial statements, which appears in Laboratory Corporation
of America Holdings and its subsidiaries' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 1998.






/s/  PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC
Charlotte, North Carolina
January 6, 2000
