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218 Tasks for the Veterinary Assistant

4. Identify common blood tubes used in veterinary medicine
6. Prepare fecal flotation solutions and set up fecal flotations and
direct smears
7. Understand the role of the veterinary assistant in necropsy
procedures
8. Explain how to handle rabies suspects and samples safely
10. Identify external parasites: mites, lice, fleas, and ticks
11. Assist in the preparation of various specimen staining
techniques
12. Prepare and spin microhematocrit tubes for evaluation by
veterinarian or veterinary technician
B. Laboratory record keeping
1. Ensure all laboratory results are accurately recorded
2. Stock laboratory supplies
3. File laboratory reports
4. Maintain laboratory log

In‐house laboratories provide test results that aid in the strip and serology test readers. You will also find a micro-
diagnosis, prognosis, and course of therapy for patients. scope, centrifuge, and refractometer as common pieces
The veterinary technician receives extensive education of equipment. The veterinary assistants may use, clean,
on running these tests. Entire semesters are devoted to and maintain these pieces of equipment. The assistant
clinical pathology which include blood chemistries, uri- can be of value to the team by maintaining the equip-
nalysis, serology, cytology, and microbiology testing as ment per the manufacturer’s recommendations. Because
well as hematology and parasitology. The veterinarian there are so many companies that produce these pieces
depends on the veterinary technician to prepare sam- of equipment it is beyond the scope of this chapter to
ples properly for analysis, conduct the tests accurately, describe them all. It is best to read the equipment’s user
and record the results. The veterinary assistant can help manual if available and if not contacting the manufac-
with sample collection, set‐up, restocking supplies, turer for a new manual or for an online link.
cleaning and maintaining instruments. It is not the Watch, read, and learn which piece of equipment per-
responsibility of either the veterinary technician or forms which test. Learn what kits or disposables are
assistant to interpret the results of the tests, that is pur- required, as well as what type of sample is required for
view of the veterinarian. the test, and have everything ready for the veterinary
These tests measure and monitor changes within the technician. The following information in this chapter is
body not otherwise discernible on physical examination. to educate you on what tests are commonly run in‐house,
Chemical changes in the body indicate alterations in what samples are required, and how to set up some of
organ function, which are the hallmarks of disease and the basic tests.
its progression. The presence or absence of disease‐pro-
ducing organisms may be determined and drug levels
measured. Blood, urine, feces, and other bodily secre- Maintenance of Stain Sets
tions are the source for these analyses. The tasks in this
chapter will help the veterinary assistant learn about lab- The best veterinary practice cannot obtain reliable results
oratory work. if reliable materials are not used. Stains, reagents, test
Laboratory services are performed either within the strips, and miscellaneous equipment need to be available,
veterinary facility, referred to as in‐house testing, or sent in‐date, and maintained to ensure accurate results. Typical
off‐site to a commercial laboratory, referred to as a refer- stains are those used for hematology and cytology smears:
ence laboratory. The laboratory equipment available in Gram stain for microbiology stains; new methylene blue
the practice determine which tests are run in‐house and for manual reticulocyte counts and cytology specimens
which are sent to a reference laboratory. The modern like ear swabs. Acid‐fast or dip quick stains are used for
veterinary clinic laboratory is equipped with a suite of hematology smears and other cytology preparations.
instruments. These include hematology, blood chemistry, Stain degradation happens to alcohol fixatives found
electrolyte, coagulation, and blood gas analyzers. There in the hematology stains. They pick up moisture from
are instruments that simply read results like urinalysis the air or evaporate. Stains lose their potency and