Laboratory Techniques and Diagnostic Procedures Flashcards
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Read the first 7 Laboratory Techniques and Diagnostic Procedures flashcards as text
When performing a blood smear using the push-slide technique, what does a smear that is too thick most likely indicate?
Answer: The spreader slide angle was too high (greater than 45°) or a large drop of blood was used
A steep angle or too large a blood drop produces a thick smear where cells overlap, making differential counting unreliable.
Heinz bodies visible on a feline blood smear are caused by what?
Answer: Oxidative damage to hemoglobin forming denatured protein inclusions
Heinz bodies are precipitates of oxidatively denatured hemoglobin attached to the RBC membrane, commonly caused by onions, acetaminophen, or propylene glycol in cats.
A urine sediment examined microscopically reveals waxy casts. What does this finding suggest about the duration of renal tubular disease?
Answer: Chronic, long-standing tubular disease
Waxy casts form from the degeneration of granular casts over time, indicating chronic, severe renal tubular disease with prolonged urinary stasis.
Which staining method is used specifically to identify reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) in a blood sample?
Answer: New methylene blue (NMB) stain
New methylene blue is a supravital stain that precipitates residual RNA in reticulocytes, making them appear as cells with dark blue granules or a network.
What is the primary purpose of using a Baermann apparatus in veterinary diagnostics?
Answer: Recovering motile larvae (especially lungworm larvae) from fecal samples
The Baermann technique uses the larvaes' motility and warmth-seeking behavior to migrate out of feces into water, concentrating them at the bottom for identification.
In a urinalysis, a urine pH of 8.5 in a dog that has been fasted overnight is most suspicious for which condition?
Answer: Urinary tract infection with urease-producing bacteria
Urease-producing bacteria (e.g., Staphylococcus, Proteus) split urea into ammonia, dramatically raising urine pH toward alkaline levels.
Which plasma color indicates lipemia in a centrifuged blood sample?
Answer: Milky white or turbid
Lipemia causes plasma to appear milky white or turbid due to chylomicrons and very low-density lipoproteins scattering light.