Necropsy Flashcards
Signalment
Age Breed Body Condition Colour Species
External Examination
Hair coat skin lips pads mouth nose teeth eyes
Gross findings
Anything you see with the naked eye
Position of animal
Lateral recumbency
Organs that are regularly examined in a necropsy
lungs
liver
kidneys
small intestine
Lesions categories
Size: estimate the size of the abnormal tissue in mm or cm
Shape: round, triangular, etc.
Colour: use actual shades
Texture: raised, nodular, smooth, glassy, etc
Distribution: one area of abnormality: single many areas: clump, cluster, sporadic, regular, or random distribution
Normal post-mortem changes
tissue changes that occur due to the fact that the animal is dead rather then a disease
Tissue collection Labels
Laundry clips
How do you keep a sample flat
if needed
place it on a piece of cardboard
what are the two types of fixatives and which one is most commonly used
Bouin’s fixative and Buffered Furmalin
There should be how much more time of formalin to tissue
10 times
how long should a sample of the small intestine be
10cm and tied at both ends
what is the preferred method of submitting a sample for virus isolation
refrigerated tissue immersed in virus transport medium
which tissues should be submitted for toxicology and the size of tissue, blood and fluid samples
types: Blood, liver, stomach contents, kidneys, fat, brain
size: blocks of 10x4x4cm
fluid: 50-100ml
List the critical tissues
lung, myocardium, liver, spleen, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, kidneys, lymph nodes, whole brain, endocrine organs, urinary bladder, colon, muscle
which part of the animal is best send to the lab if rabies is suspected
the animal’s head but if your not trained in decapatation then send the whole body
what should you do if you are shipping something that needs to be kept cold
use ice packs and not ice
50% formalin should be used for what sample
whole brain and spinal cords and bones
how should your submission papers be packaged
it should be in its own plastic bag
what are the tissue and fluid sample sizes for microbiology specimens
tissues: 2x3x1cm
fluid: 3-5 ml
Bouin’s fixative is usually used for what tissue
fetal tissue, intestinal epithelial, eyes, testes, endocrine glands, inclusion bodies associated with virus
how should you package your specimens for shipping
make sure they are not going to break/ leak. Contact the shipping company for specific package requirements
tissues should not be
squeezed, stretched or rinsed with water
microbiology, parasitology and toxicology samples
before samples are taken for examination you should contact the diagnostic lab for any specific advice on which sample should be collected, how they should be collected, and how they should to packaged and submitted
why is Buffers important
it eliminates the formation of undesirable hematin pigment in tissue sections
cytological examinations
smears are made either by scarping the cut surface of the specimen with a new scale blade and then spreading the scraped material onto the slide by lightly pressing small pieces of tissues against the surface of a clean slide
autolysis
self-digestion of tissue from the enzymes release after death
rigor mortis
stiffening of all muscles after death, usually begins in 1-6 hours and passes off in 1-2 days
algor mortis
gradual calling of the body after death (cools the body)
livor mortis
gravitational setting of the blood to the downside of the body, most evidence in lung, skin and kidneys
imbibition
lysis of red blood cells releases haemoglobin into the tissues and turns them red
distention
due to the fermentation and production of gas in the digestive tract. distention results in pressure effects, such as impressions of loops of intestines or indentation of ribs along the surface of other organs (ex: liver)
displacement
the intestines may continue to have the capability of movement shortly after death. twists or tears that occur after death do not show associated haemorrhage
bile staining
leakage from the gall bladder may stay adjacent tissues a yellow brown
