Tag: Laboratory animals
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Blood gas analysis, pt 1: why everyone needs to know about it
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For those of you who have received referral histories from emergency or specialists hospitals, blood gas analysis is probably no stranger to you. For those who have never heard of them before, fear not – you are in for a treat. In my emergency hospital, the blood gas analyser is arguably one of the most…
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SNAP FeLV antigen/FIV antibody test
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The past decade has seen a significant shift in the prevalence of both FeLV and FIV in most European countries. This, coupled with a better understanding of the viral dynamics of FeLV, will influence the interpretation of the results of in-house diagnostics tests of these viral infections. FeLV is an RNA virus that undergoes classic…
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Don’t fear tuition fees
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With the upcoming general election, the question of changing tuition fees has cropped up again. People obsess over the fact rising tuition fees are putting poorer families off from sending their children to university. But I think they’ve got it wrong – tuition fees aren’t the problem. Tuition fees are only paid back once you…
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Under the microscope: lessons from pathology rotation
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The past couple of weeks on rotation have largely consisted of looking down a microscope or performing postmortems – and despite clinical and anatomic pathology being very different, a running theme seemed to exist across both. On the clinical pathology week, we pored over slide after slide of blood smears and cytology samples, trying to…
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How to train your Dragon
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Merry Christmas everyone! It’s the time of year where we don’t have to put so much effort into columns and blogs – I did wonder about running a compilation of my best bits from the past year, but I thought the juxtaposition of pieces on imposter syndrome, the death of my dog and which vet…
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Pieces of paper
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Several piles of paper are on the table in the centre of the room. The slide trays are stacked next to them; depending who has been on “winkling” duty, this is either a towering Manhattan skyline of ominous-looking pillars, or a sprawling shanty town of small groups and ordered by urgency, potential difficulty, quality of…
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Needle aspirate subcutaneous masses
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Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is a valuable tool in subcutaneous skin masses. We have all had those lumps that, on palpation, you are sure are lipomas (being soft, freely mobile and slow growing). Indeed, the vast majority are just such benign problems – however, it is worth aspirating them to be sure. Felt like lipoma…
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At the bottom of the learning curve
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Life has taken me to some unusual places recently: sitting in a small boat surrounded by creepy puppets singing It’s a small world after all; somewhere called “soft play” (which is rather like being trapped inside the 1960s Batman TV show); and, most recently, a clinical pathology lab where I now spend the bulk of…
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Totally pathological
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As is no doubt clear by this point in my blogging career, I am a with-it and hip sort of chap with his finger on the pulse of youth culture. Consequently, I am aware when a youngster brings his pet to me and says “my dog is sick, man”, he may actually mean the animal…
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Festive threats to four-legged family members
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Now well into December, and getting ever closer to Christmas, there will be an abundance of “goodies” around the house that are not so good for the four-legged family members. Most owners are aware of the dangers of chocolate and so are likely to rush down to the vet on Boxing Day when their Labrador…