Pre-Surgical, Diagnostic and Routine Veterinary Lab Tests
Catch Problems early with Laboratory Blood Screening at Palm Bay Animal Clinic
The veterinarians at Palm Bay
Animal Clinic want you to know that having
your pet's blood work checked is important to do routinely as well as when they are sick.
Blood work, pre-surgical or otherwise, is usually a combination of a
complete blood count (CBC)
CBC – “Complete Blood Count”
This is a blood test that counts the number of blood cells in a sample of blood,
usually expressed as the number of cells per liter of blood.
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and a
blood chemistry analysis (CHEM)
CHEM- “Blood Chemistry Panel”
This blood test actually measures the individual chemical elements in the blood
including glucose, liver and kidney enzymes, electrolytes, and many other parameters.
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with other tests run as needed, such as
thyroid testing
Thyroid dysfunction/ Thyroid testing
The thyroid gland secretes hormones (T4 and T3) which cause changes in many places
including the hair and skin, muscles (including the heart), metabolism, red blood cells,
sensitivity to hot and cold temperatures, and activity level.
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.
Pets, particularly senior ones, should have "wellness blood screening" checked at every annual examination, since changes on blood work are often detectable before the pet shows severe symptoms of disease.
We recommend having a
pre-surgical blood screening
Pre-Anesthetic Blood Screening
Refers to blood work that would be checked prior to placing an animal under anesthesia
for a procedure such as a dental cleaning or surgery.
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performed before any
surgery, even in young animals, to check for underlying abnormalities that could complicate
anesthesia. In addition, blood work allows a veterinarian to monitor organ function when a
pet is on medication long term as well as the progression of a pet's disease after diagnosis.
Our veterinarians work with a
local "stat-lab" when urgent test results
are needed, and send routine or wellness screening blood work out for testing with results
the next day.
Fecal Testing
Fecal tests
Fecal tests are important to diagnose intestinal parasites in pets and can be
run on fresh stool samples either in the clinic or at a reference lab.
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and
urinalyses
Urinalysis
Analysis of a urine sample to diagnose disease using a variety of tests.
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can be run on-site or sent out as part of wellness
screening panels.
Laboratory Screening is crucial in correctly diagnosing many illnesses
Other laboratory tests that are commonly used to diagnose skin and ear
infections can be run on-site. These include
microscopic ear-cytology and ear mite checks,
skin scraping and cytology,
Cytology
The study cells, their origin, structure, function, and involvement in disease (using a microscope).
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and
fungal cultures
Fungal culture
Also known as “DTM” (dermatophyte test media) this test is used to detect infection
with ringworm which is a fungus that causes hair loss and itching in animals and humans.
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.
These tests are crucial to obtaining the correct diagnosis and thus, prescribing the appropriate treatment.
They are also used to confirm that treatment has been successful and that the infection or parasite problem has completely resolved.
