Necropsy Flashcards
Necropsy Procedure
Postmortem examination on a non preserved animal
o Often practiced to help determine cause of death in animals dying for unknown reasons
Standard equipment used
Necropsy knife
Sterile surgical instruments (scalpel, thumb forceps)
Specimen collection containers (sterile bags, formalin jars)
Bone shears
Task sequence
- Place animal in dorsal/left lateral/right lateral recumbency
- Make midline skin incision from the lips to the pelvis
- Reflect the skin from the underlying musculature
- Cut ventral muscular attachment of limbs to splay them out
- Cut open the abdomen
- Cut open the thorax
- Remove the internal organs
Tissue specimens should be collected during necropsy procedure
Specimens for culture– Follow aseptic technique
Specimens for histology– Place in formalin, 1:10 ratio
Specimens for toxicology– Choose appropriate ones
Submission of collected specimens
Cool tissues before shipping
Postal Service regulations require a leak proof container for mailing
Send by courier for delivery to diagnostic lab as soon as possible