Pathology involves the laboratory evaluation of blood, fluids or body tissues in identifying existing disease.
Common laboratory test include :
- Blood chemistry
- Complete blood cell count
- Urinalysis
- Faecal test
- Cultures
Our clinic is equipped with an in-house laboratory that allows our Veterinarians to quickly perform many diagnostic tests to achieve accurate and rapid results.
Blood tests help to diagnose conditions such as pancreatitis, diabetes, anaemia, kidney related diseases and even the presence of infection. We recommended pre-anaesthetic bloods prior to surgery because it provides us with an insight into your pet’s white/red blood cell count, kidney and liver function and you with peace of mind.
The kidney and liver process the anaesthetic drugs and break them down, so their function is essential during anaesthetic. Urine and faecal samples can also be processed in-house to assess for things such as parasites within faeces and crystals present in urine.
We also recommend yearly wellness checks in all pets but specifically senior pets to ensure their internal health is sound.
For more advanced and non routine tests we have access to a variety of external specialist laboratories.
Annual Preventative Care Blood Testing
We recommend screening every year alongside vaccination to provide the best care for your pet. Pets age approximately five to seven times faster than humans do. Disease is often insidious and well advanced
before the manifestation of clinical signs, underscoring the need for regular screening tests.
Pets are instinctually wired to hide clinical signs of disease from their owners, frequently resulting in a late-stage diagnosis where
treatment is costly and often less likely to be effective. As pets age, the
incidence and severity of disease greatly increases. Furthermore, senior and geriatric pets may have multiple concurrent disease processes, both clinical and subclinical. Since pets are unable to articulate symptoms, many painful conditions often go unrecognised and left untreated for prolonged periods of time—something that no pet owner wants for their pet.
Furthermore, pain is frequently associated with significant underlying disease. A full chemistry profile including electrolytes, a complete blood count (CBC) and a complete urinalysis should be part of the minimum database for all preventive care visits and may be recommended on an annual or more frequent basis, depending on the age and the health status of the patient. Performing these tests on clinically normal patients allows
clinicians to establish “baseline” values that in turn establish individualised reference interval limits.