Our news

Winter wellness checks

August is the coldest month of the year, but at least it means spring is just around the corner. It is also a great time to get animals checked over – a pet warrant of fitness! Does your clinic offer clients wellness checks over the winter months for older or overweight pets?Health screening plays an […]

Good news for an old cat

Emma GulliverThis case explores a congenital cause of a mass lesion in the tongue of a senior feline.Clinical history:Jasper, a ten-year-old male neutered Tonkinese x Rex cat, presented for an ulcerative lesion on the dorsal surface of the tongue (Figure 1). He had a history of self-trauma and scratching at the face. The lesion was […]

Cytologic grading of canine mast cell tumours

Sandra BullaAn update:Mast cell tumours (MCT) are the most common skin neoplasia in dogs, shown to occur with a frequency of approximately 20% of all canine skin tumours. Although it can occur in any breed, the prevalence is consistently reported in many studies from different countries to be higher in some breeds. Some examples of […]

Large cytology submissions

We occasionally receive cytology submissions with large numbers of smears. These cases take a huge amount of time to process, stain and examine.In order to better reflect the cost involved in these cases (>10 smears) we have changed the descriptions and pricing for cytology testing. The options marked with an asterisk below have been changed. […]

Packaging histology samples

We’ve had some ‘interesting’ histology submissions lately, so we thought it was a good time to remind you of how samples should be packaged to avoid disasters and to best preserve the samples for examination.Please do:> Submit histology samples separately from any specimens for cytology (don’t put sample containers in the same specimen bag as cyto […]

CADET® BRAF testing

– accurate canine bladder and prostate cancer testCADET® BRAF evaluates urine samples from dogs for the presence of cells containing a mutation for canine bladder/prostate cancer (TCC/UC). It’s cutting-edge technology that is accurate and convenient for both veterinarian and pet owner.Achieve accurate and early diagnosis of TCC/UCCADET® BRAF is a highly sensitive test designed to monitor the b-raf mutation […]

Matariki long weekend

All of our laboratories will be closed on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 June to celebrate Matariki – the start of a new lunar year. We will reopen on Monday morning ready for the new week.

Feline lung-digit syndrome

Rebecca AllanClinical historyAn otherwise well, 9-year-old male neutered domestic medium-hair cat, presented to the veterinarian after his owner discovered he had swollen crusted toes on one front foot and both back feet. Clinical examination revealed that affected toes were swollen, malodourous, with a necrotic appearance around the nail base (photos 1 and 2). The rest […]

Hyposegmentation

Arefeh RavanbakhshPelger-Huët anomaly (PHA) is a genetic condition reported in numerous species characterised by nuclei hyposegmentation of granulocytes (neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils).Nuclei of granulocytes can appear oval, kidney-shaped, bean-shaped, band-shaped or bilobed.1 This anomaly has been described in dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, and humans.1 It is thought that a defect occurs at the stem cell […]

Update: Canine exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Karen BaileyIn our February newsletter we advised you of a recent update to the interpretation guidelines for canine serum Trypsin-Like Immunoreactivity (TLI) test results. These changes were provisional pending further studies to refine the clinical cut-off limits for diagnosis of canine exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI).More information has recently become available confirming the original findings, whilst […]