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Laboratory Procedures Flashcards

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1
Q

A healthy horse’s or cow’s plasma should be ___.

A

Clear and light yellow

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2
Q

Dogs and cats should have ____ plasma.

A

Clear and colorless

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3
Q

What is the best and most effective way to culture abscess material and tissue samples such as masses, organs, skin or scales?

A

By placing these items into a small amount of nutritive broth (TSB or THIO) and incubating overnight before taking aliquots of the broth subculture and plating it onto the media being used for the culture

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4
Q

How are liquid specimens such as tracheal washes, nasal discharge, abscess liquid, or cerebral spinal fluid handled for culture?

A

Inoculated directly onto plates

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5
Q

How are blood samples handled for cultures?

A

Collected directly into TSB tubes

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6
Q

When diagnosing a canine patient with heartworms, what does an ELISA antigen test detect in a patient’s sample?

A

Female adult heartworm antigens

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7
Q

What is a possible cause of false negative heartworm ELISA tests?

A

Single-sex (male only) infections

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8
Q

What tests/findings are needed to confirm heartworm infections in cats?

A

Positive heartworm antibody titer
Basophilia and eosinophilia in blood
Enlarged pulmonary vessels

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9
Q

What are the most optimal conditions for bacterial cultures that are incubating overnight?

A

Temperatures between 95 degrees and 98.6 degrees
Utilize screw-caps when using tubes for media
Incubation plates stored inverted with lid down when stored for growth
Ensure environment contains 5% carbon dioxide if fastidious bacteria are of concern

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10
Q

What are crucibles?

A

Laboratory equipment used to hold samples that are being heated at high temperatures

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11
Q

Why should BAL samples be centrifuged prior to submission?

A

Because of low cellularity

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12
Q

What distinctive morphological feature do mammalian eosinophils have to help identify them from other cells?

A

Numerous reddish to pinkish granules in the cytoplasm

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13
Q

What conditions may lead to increased numbers of eosinophils?

A

Allergies, parasitism, neoplasia

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14
Q

What anticoagulant is typically used in birds and reptiles?

A

Heparin

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15
Q

What are some issues that may occur with heparin anticoagulant in blood sampling?

A

Platelet clumping and cell distortion can occur

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16
Q

What is EDTA not used for birds and reptiles?

A

It can lyse various cells

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17
Q

What gram-positive rod causes caseous lymphadenitis in goats and sheep?

A

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis

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18
Q

What gram-positive rod causes anthrax?

A

Bacillus anthracis

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19
Q

What gram-positive rod is found in the skin and mucous membranes of cattle?

A

Trueperella pyogenes

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20
Q

What gram-positive rod that causes neurologic illness in ruminants?

A

Listeria monocytogenes

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21
Q

What type of disorders are evaluated by testing synovial fluid?

A

Joint disorders

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22
Q

What is synovial fluid? What factors of it are evaluated?

A

A viscous fluid found in the joint spaces
Analyzed for color, clarity, thickness, and content

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23
Q

What is synovial fluid sampling called?

A

Arthrocentesis

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24
Q

What is being measured during a heat precipitation test?

A

Plasma fibrinogen

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25
What is the most abundant coagulation factor in the body?
Fibrinogen
26
How are plasma fibrinogen levels affected?
Decrease with failing liver, genetic factors, and clot formation Increase with inflammation
27
How is a heat precipitation test done?
2 hematocrit tubes are spun Read total protein on first tube Perform water bath on second tube for 3 minutes at 132.8 F Respin the heated tube; precipitated fibrinogen will settle above buffy coat\ Read total protein on heated tube (TP unheated tube - TP heated tube) x 100 = mg/dL fibrinogen concentration
28
What situation would a heat precipitation test be considered not accurate?
With low fibrinogen levels - considered accurate when evaluating for elevation
29
Blood agar plates contain what?
Trypticase soy agar with 5% blood
30
When collecting blood for a Modified Knott's test, how much blood is required, and in what type of collection tube?
1 mL of EDTA blood in a 15 mL conical centrifuge tube
31
You perform a urine-specific gravity test on a patient with azotemia. You have a concern because you find the concentration of 1.010. We define this by what term? Does this represent a gravity that is higher, equal to, or less than plasma?
Isosthenuric Equal to
32
What parasites does the Baermann fecal technique look for?
Lungworms
33
What is the normal test result range for Buccal mucosal bleeding time tests?
1-4 minutes
34
What culture media would you use to determine if a bacterial organism has the ability to utilize glucose, sucrose, and lactose?
Triple sugar iron agar slant
35
What culture media is used to determine urease production?
Christensen's urea agar
36
What does a trichogram analysis evaluate?
Hair shafts under a microscope
37
What is a normal pH of a cow's rumen content?
Between 5.5 (high-grain diets) and 7.0
38
How do mammalian eosinophils appear on blood smears?
Found in low numbers Numerous reddish to pinkish granules in the cytoplasm Generally have segmented nuclei with condensed chromatin
39
Why might there be an increased amount of eosinophils on a blood smear?
Times of allergies, parasitism, or neoplasia
40
How do lymphocytes appear on blood smears?
Contain round nuclei with chromatin, densely packed, filling most of the cytoplasm
41
How do mast cells appear on blood smears?
May uncommonly be found in peripheral blood smears - suggest inflammatory conditions or mast cell tumors Large cells with round nuclei and abundant basophilic cytoplasm and purple granules Often found at feathered edge
42
Your doctor just handed you a bone marrow aspirate sample that she obtained. Before she removes the bone needle, you should:
Take a pull-slide sample, place a drop of methylene blue and a cover slip, and ensure sufficient bone marrow cells are present Immediately place sample in an EDTA vacutainer to prevent clotting
43
Activated clotting time (ACT) is a coagulation test that can be performed in house with a special collection tube containing which substance? What does this substance do?
Diatomaceous earth Activates clotting factors in whole blood
44
How long should a bacterial culture plate be held before reporting a "no growth" result?
3 days
45
What characteristic of gram-positive organisms allow them to readily take up and retain violet stain?
Peptidoglycan in the cell wall
46
What may cause a hypersegmented nuclei within a blood cell?
Blood sample is old Marked inflammation or recovery from an inflammatory condition Exogenous or endogenous excess steroids
47
What amount of progressively motile sperm do we want to see?
A finding of >/ 70%
48
When performing quality control, what is the acceptable number of standard deviation from the mean? What does this reflect?
+/- 2 standard deviations This reflects that a quality control data point is outside the acceptable and expected range less than <5%
49
What species could rouleaux be a normal finding?
Horses To a lesser degree, cats and pigs
50
What is a normal urine glucose reading in any animal? Why?
0 mg/dL Renal tubules are generally able to reabsorb all glucose; glucosuria occurs when renal tubules are not able to resorb all glucose
51
What blood glucose level will cause glucosuria in horses and cattle?
100 mg/dL
52
What blood glucose level will cause glucosuria in dogs?
180 mg/dL
53
What blood glucose level will cause glucosuria in cats?
300 mg/dL
54
What is a normal blood pH for cats?
7.25 - 7.40
55
What is a normal blood pH for dogs?
7.31 - 7.42
56
How does carbon dioxide affect acid-base balance?
The higher the CO2, the more acidic and lower the pH will become
57
The lower the blood pH, the ___ the prognosis may become. Values under __ are extremely dangerous and not normally compatible with life.
Worse 7.0
58
What is basic blood?
Blood with higher than normal pH
59
What is neutral blood?
Blood that is within the appropriate pH reference range
60
When performing a microscopic examination of urine sediment, a high power field is used to enumerate what?
Epithelial cells, red blood cells, and leukocytes
61
When performing a microscopic examination of urine sediment, a low power field is used to enumerate what?
Casts
62
What are normal ocular pressures in dogs and cats?
15-23 mm Hg
63
How do mast cells appear on cytology/
Oval cells with round to oval nuclei, often contain numerous blue to dark purple granules within cytoplasm
64
Mast cells are best identified on cytology with what stain? Why?
New methylene blue - effectively stains nuceli Mast cells can be identified with other stains such as Diff-Quik, but granules stain much darker and clearer with new methylene blue
65
What do ELISA tests quantify?
Either the amount of antigen of an organism or antibodies to an organism
66
What does a positive result on an ELISA snap test mean for the patient?
The patient has been exposed to the organism being tested for - a positive test does not necessarily mean the patient will develop clinical signs
67
What stain is typically used to evaluate core bone marrow samples?
Hematoxylin and eosin stain
68
What stain is typically used for bone marrow aspirates?
Romanowsky stain (Wright, Giemsa, Diff-Quick)
69
At what PCV percentage would wound healing be negatively impacted in a horse?
<20%
70
What is a normal PCV/TS in adult horses?
27-43%
71
What does the dipstick heme test detect the presence of? What is its limitation?
Blood Cannot differentiate between intact RBCs, free hemoglobin, or myoglobin
72
Uterine biopsy specimens in mares and cows can be easily obtained via what method?
Standing and biopsy forceps
73
When shipping in-house culture samples to an outside lab for further diagnostics and identification what object should you never ship? Why?
Culture plates - fragile, easily damaged Take subcolony of interest and place in a tubed slant or sterile swab
74
How can fecal samples for parasitic evaluation be submitted if they are unable to be immediately evaluated?
Refrigerated or preserved in 10% formalin solution at a ratio of 1:3 feces to formalin
75
How should whole parasites be submitted to the lab?
Preserved in 10% formalin or alcohol
76
What does anisocytosis mean? What can it indicate?
Varying sizes of erythrocytes Can be an indicator of various types of anemia and other hematological disorders
77
What is poikilocytosis?
Varying shapes of erythrocytes
78
What is pyuria?
Elevated number of leukocytes in a urine sample
79
What is oliguria?
Decreased volume of urine being passed compared to normal
80
Describe the appearance of Heinz bodies.
An erythrocyte with a "nose-like" protrusion giving the cell a "light bulb" appearance
81
What are Heinz bodies caused by?
Oxidative injuries, meaning hemoglobin has been deactivated
82
What is a Howell Jolly body?
A non-protruding dark circle within an erythrocyte
83
What is a blister cell?
An area in the cell that is void of hemoglobin, which creates a blister on the side of a cell, making the cell appear like a padlock
84
What is a normal urine specific gravity in dogs and cats?
Dogs: 1.015-1.045 Cats: 1.035-1.060
85
In what animal is mucus in the urine considered normal? Why?
Horses Horses absorb excessive calcium from the intestine and then eliminate via urine, making them more likely to form urinary crystals. Mucus acts as a lubricant to prevent calcium carbonate crystals from turning into stones
86
How does horse urine appear? Why?
Cloudy/milky in appearance due to eliminated calcium from excessive absorption in the intestines Bubbly appearance when first excreted due to mucous
87
What is the ideal amount of time a hematocrit tube must be centrifuged to determine the packed cell volume?
5 minutes at 6000 RPMs
88
How are manual urine sediment analysis performed?
Urine sample centrifuged for 3-5 minutes Supernatant is removed A few drops of the sediment at the bottom is transferred to a slide with a coverslip Observed under microscope at 100x for crystals, casts, and cells Observed under microscope at 400x for cells and bacteria
89
What is a normal urine pH in dogs and cats?
Dogs: 7.0-7.5 CatsL 6.3-6.6
90
What is an appropriate blood volume to take from a gelding as a blood transfusion donation?
16 mL/kg or 20%
91
What is recommended for a donor equine after blood collection for a transfusion?
Replacement of the volume taken via crystalloids post-venipuncture
92
How should samples for APTT and PT tests be collected?
Into a blue-top using a 9:1 ratio of blood to trisodium citrate
93
What are spherocytes? What condition may they be seen in on canine blood smears?
Small red blood cells lacking an area of central pallor IMHA
94
What is MIC?
Minimum inhibitory concentration The antibiotic's lowest concentration that prevents visible bacterial growth
95
What percentage of cells settle to the bottom of a centrifuged microhematocrit tube used to determine PCV/TS? What part of the blood does this represent?
28-55% depending on species, age, and underlying disease Red blood cells
96
What percentage of the microhematocrit tube does the buffy coat generally occupy/
97
What species normally has basophils containing numerous, prominent blue-purple granules?
Horses and cattle
98
What would an increased number of basophils indicate?
Parasite infections Hypersensitivity reaction Potentially neoplastic processes
99
What does an oxidase test determine?
If the bacteria contain cytochrome oxidase, a respiratory enzyme
100
If an oxidase test is positive, what color does it turn?
Blue
101
What can be done to improve the contrast when performing a wet mount microscopic urine sample evaluation?
Lower the condenser and partially close the iris diaphragm
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