FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *   Peters Robert E 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year) 01/01/2005 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol QUEST DIAGNOSTICS INC [DGX] (Last) (First) (Middle) ONE MALCOLM AVENUE 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director _____ 10% Owner __X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below) Vice Pres., Sales & Marketing 5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year) (Street) TETERBORO, NJ 07608 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person (City) (State) (Zip) Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned

1.Title of Security (Instr. 4) 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4) 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5) 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5) Common Stock 318 D   Common Stock 926 (3) I 401(k)/SDCP

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.			SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Stock Options (Right to buy)	07/17/2004(1)	07/17/2012	Common Stock	7,200	$ 70.015	D	Â
Stock Options (Right to buy)	02/27/2004(2)	02/27/2012	Common Stock	9,200	$ 71.065	D	Â

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Peters Robert E ONE MALCOLM AVENUE TETERBORO, NJ 07608	Â	Â	  Vice Pres., Sales & Marketing	Â

Signatures

Sirisha Gummaregula, attorney-in-fact for Robert E. Peters		01/05/2005
**Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Explanation of Responses:

*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1)	Two-thirds of the option have vested. The final one-third will vest on July 17, 2005.
(2)	Two-thirds of the option have vested. The final one-third will vest on February 27, 2005
(3)	These underlying shares were acquired on a periodic basis by the Quest Diagnostics Incorporated's (the "Company") tax qualified Profit Sharing (401(k)) plan and/or the Company's Supplemental Deferred Compensation Plan. The information was obtained from the plan administrator as of a recent date. The number of shares is based on the account balance of the Company stock fund under the plan (which includes some money market instruments) divided by the market price of the Company's stock as of that date.

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