Our Tests

Gribbles Veterinary Pathology offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic tests.

Explore our Range of Diagnostic Tests

 

Gribbles Veterinary Pathology offers a comprehensive range of diagnostic tests. To obtain information on a specific test, click on the relevant animal category below and tests will be listed alphabetically. Here you will find guidelines on sample tubes, sample type, turn-around-time (TAT), and more.

 

Companion


Profiles and commonly requested tests for companion animals.

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Equine


Profiles and commonly requested tests for animals in the equine family.

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Production


Profiles and commonly requested tests for production animals.

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Exotics and Other


Profiles and commonly requested tests for exotics and other animals.

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Handy Hints:

Test Tube Guide:


For more information on our test tubes, please refer to our Test Tube Guide below.

View our Test Tube Guide

Swab Guide:


For more information on our swabs, please refer to our Swab Guide below.

View our Swab Collection Guide


A few tips to optimise sample quality:


Improving sample quality will contribute towards optimising diagnostic interpretation of your patient’s laboratory results. Haemolysis and lipaemia in blood samples are common causes of artefacts in laboratory results submitted for biochemistry and haematology. Their presence can limit interpretation of results and make certain tests invalid.

Limit haemolysis: Sample haemolysis may be limited by minimising lipaemia, correct blood collection procedure, gently mixing sample with anticoagulant, and serum or plasma separation in a timely fashion.

  • Jugular venipuncture is preferred to peripheral veins to minimise cell damage and haemolysis.
  • Use the largest gauge needle appropriate for the patient and collection site.
  • Use the minimum suction necessary when using a syringe.
  • If not using a vacutainer system, remove the needle from the syringe – do not inject through the lid of the tube. Make sure the lids and tubes are matched to avoid anticoagulant contamination; remember to replace the correct lid on the correct tube.
  • Serum or plasma should preferably be separated from the clot or RBC mass at the veterinary practice. Gel tubes allow centrifuging without further handling for adequate separation but are not suitable for all tests.

Limit lipaemia: To limit lipaemia, it is preferable to fast patients for 8-12 hours. If the patient has not been fasted, specify “non-fasting sample” on the submission form for accurate interpretation. Note that canine CRP is not available in lipaemic samples. Electrolytes and some other analytes may be unreliable in lipaemic samples.

Provide sufficient sample volume: Insufficient sample volume is a common problem and can often be minimised through careful tube selection.

Limit sample ageing: Sample ageing can be the source of numerous laboratory errors, which in extreme cases might lead to sample rejection.

  • Where possible, all blood tubes should be stored in the fridge before submission.
  • Blood films collect moisture if stored in the fridge. Blood films and cytology smears should be gently air dried and then stored at room temperature in a clean, dry slide cover.

In cases where samples cannot be dispatched the same day to Gribbles Veterinary Pathology, i.e. collected over the weekend or during public holidays such as Easter, Christmas, use the following guide:

  • Histology: Fix in formalin. Ensure a sample volume to formalin ratio of 1:10.
  • EDTA blood: Make a smear and store blood in the fridge and the smear at room temperature.
  • Serum: Remove the clot from the sample by either centrifugation or standing sample until the serum separates and pour off the serum into a nonadditive tube (NOT an anticoagulant, red top or gel tube). A yellow top pot is adequate, but must be labelled as serum. Send both serum and clot just in case the clot is needed. We can often gather additional serum with our high speed centrifuges. For gel tubes, centrifuging alone is sufficient.
  • Urine: Refrigerate sample but be aware that the number and type of urinary crystals and number of bacteria will change, and that casts will disintegrate.
  • Fresh tissue for microbiology: If a swab, use one that contains transport media. Microbiology specimens should be stored in the fridge before submission.
  • Cytology samples: Keep air-dried smears at room temperature. If it is a fluid, also make fresh smears and submit along with the fluid tubes. EDTA tubes limit fluid degeneration for cytology, but are not suitable for culture. If in doubt, collect both. You are welcome to submit your prestained smears also.