In-house laboratory
We can analyse our own tests in practice, including haematology, biochemistry and urinalysis, saving time for you and your pet.
If your animal requires laboratory tests for monitoring of their health or to aid with diagnosis of an illness, we have the option of running tests in our in-house lab, or sending them to external reference laboratories.
In-house tests can give us results when we need them very quickly, while the external reference laboratories give us the option of a wide range of more specialist tests.
The tests that we can run in house vary slightly from branch to branch but include:
● Blood tests, such as:
○ Biochemistry, which gives us information about the liver and kidneys, as well as values such as protein levels, electrolytes and glucose levels. We use this to run pre-anaesthetic blood samples for animals having an operation
○ Haematology, which gives us a measure of levels of red and white blood cells, and can be useful in diagnosing anaemia, infection, some cancers, and some clotting problems
○ We can also run other tests such as thyroid levels, tests for pancreatitis and some infectious agents such as feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus
● Urine testing can be useful for giving us information about the kidneys and the bladder, as well as other diseases that affect thirst and urination
● We can use the microscope to look at various things such as hair samples, samples taken from skin or ears, urine samples and aspirates taken from lumps
Tests sent to the external laboratory are usually collected by courier on the day they are taken.