• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Locations:
  • Canyon
  • Center
  • College Station
  • Gonzales
  • TVMDL Career Center
  • Contact Us

Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory

Apple App

download on the Apple App Store
download the app on Google Play

Search

Translate:

  • Find a Form
  • Deliver a Sample
    • Specimen Collection Information
    • Packaging Samples for Shipment
    • Drop Off a Sample
    • Cremation
    • Order Supplies
  • Client Portal
    • Get Test Results
    • SVA Portal
    • Pay a Bill
  • Become a Client
  • Resources
    • TVMDL Bovine Testing Guidance and Reference Material
    • Diagnostic Plans
      • Bovine Syndromic Diagnostic Plans
      • Equine Syndromic Diagnostic Plans
      • Small Ruminant Syndromic Diagnostic Plans
      • Small Animal Syndromic Diagnostic Plans
    • Education Library
    • Case Study Library
    • Electronic Reporting: QR Coding Process
    • CoreOne Resources
  • About Us
    • Locations and Hours
    • Agency Leadership
    • Speaker’s Bureau
    • Texas Pullorum-Typhoid Program
    • TVMDL Mobile app
    • Contact Us
  • Locations
    • College Station Laboratory
    • Canyon Laboratory
    • Center Laboratory
    • Gonzales Laboratory
  • Contact Us

How to assemble a necropsy field kit

May 18, 2020 by Mallory Pfeifer

Diagnosing animal diseases frequently requires a veterinarian or a technician to collect specimens in the field. This can be difficult without having the right tools on hand. For these occasions, the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory suggests assembling a necropsy field kit.

The kit should include the following tools and materials, all of which are available from a hardware store:

  • A 15-inch crosscut saw with a coarse blade.
  • Pruning loppers, 29 to 31 inches.
  • A dead-blow mallet.
  • A camping hatchet.
  • A boning knife).
  • One box of quart-size re-sealable bags.
  • One box of gallon-size re-sealable bags.

In addition, include a set of surgical scissors and forceps along with personal protective equipment, such as gloves and eyewear. Also, wrap the tools with sharper edges in old towels to protect the other tools as well as your hands.

The tools may be stored and carried in a military-style tactical bag or in a large duffel bag. The bag should be at least 32-inches long to contain the pruning loppers, and should including a shoulder strap for easier carrying.

All together, the kit should cost between $120 and $150 to put together.

To download a printable version of this information, click here.

For more information about TVMDL’s testing options and services, visit tvmdl.tamu.edu or call the College Station laboratory at 1.888.646.5623 or the Amarillo laboratory at 1.888.646.5624.

Filed Under: DX Guidance, News

Primary Sidebar

Latest News

  • Too much (or too little) of a good thing: thyroid disease testing at TVMDL March 22, 2023
  • TVMDL adds three heavy metal panels to test catalog March 22, 2023
  • Arnold contributes to evaluation of Salmonella prevalence in feeder cattle March 16, 2023
  • Cytauxzoon felis: An Overview March 16, 2023
  • Martins joins College Station laboratory as Virology Section Head March 2, 2023
  • Neurologic Disease due to Bovine Herpesvirus-5 (BHV-5) Infection in a 3-week-old Charolais mix calf February 27, 2023

Footer

For Employees

  • Employee Email
  • TVMDL Rules & Procedures
  • TVMDL Career Center
  • Emergency Alert Systems
  • AgriLife People Directory
  • AgriLife Administrative Services
  • TAMUS Single Sign On
  • Facebook

State of Texas

  • Texas.gov Portal
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Statewide Search
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Risk, Fraud, & Misconduct Hotline

Policies

  • Privacy and Security Policy
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Texas A&M AgriLife
  • Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory
  • Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Research

483 Agronomy Rd
College Station, TX 77843