Pathology

Pathology is the study of how disease is caused, how it progresses and what it does to the body. Taking samples of body fluids and tissues to be examined by a pathologist enables the clinician to arrive at a diagnosis and get some idea of how your pet’s illness is likely to affect him or her in the future (prognosis).

Samples of superficial lesions like a mass on the skin or samples of fluid from a body cavity can be taken through a fine needle using a hypodermic syringe, with no discomfort to your pet. Often this can be done with very light or no sedation at all.

To obtain larger samples of tissue and samples from internal organs requires a surgical procedure under general anaesthetic, but the likelihood of getting very useful information from the sample justifies the procedure.

The samples are sent to an appropriate laboratory and examined by a pathologist who specialises in the particular type of condition being investigated. Tissues are fixed in preservative, embedded in wax and sliced very finely to layers just one or two cells thick. These preparations are then stained with different dyes that highlight different types of cell. When the pathologist looks at the preparation of tissue through a powerful microscope they can distinguish different types of cells and their relationship. From this, the kind of disease process can be recognised and a report sent back to the clinician in charge of the case.

To submit samples to Karen, please use the Pathology Submission Form