EXHIBIT 23.1






                  Independent Auditors' Consent
                  -----------------------------



The Board of Directors
Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration
statements (No. 33-29182 and No. 33-43006) as amended, and
registration statements (No. 33-55065 and No. 33-62913) on 
Form S-8 of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings of our 
report dated February 16, 1996, relating to the consolidated 
balance sheets of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings
and subsidiaries as of December 31, 1995 and 1994, and the 
related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' 
equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 1995, and the related schedule,
which report appears in the December 31, 1995 annual report 
on Form 10-K of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings.



                              KPMG Peat Marwick LLP

Raleigh, North Carolina
March 29, 1996